IPI Interdimensional Police Investigators
by Mokuseino Tenka
Summary: There difference universes, and within those universes are different dimensions. There is a special team within this universe dedicated to keeping the different dimensions safe: The IPI's
1. Prologue

-1"So you expect me to believe you are an Interdimensional Police… person who is hunting a treasure-stealing 'collector,' but you're too weak so you're appointing me in your place?" 13 year old Sailor Geb had her arms crossed across her chest, her staff firmly in one hand as she looked at the ragged Senshi before her with skepticism.

"Well, yes," the blond-haired Senshi said. "I am aged and too weak to continue. I need you to lead a new team, especially now that 'The Collector' as stolen several treasures already. Senshi from those universes have joined the cause, but I haven't the power to even send them back to their homes. Sailor Geb, I need your help."

Geb stared thoughtfully at the ground, weighing her options. She could dismiss this woman and go back to protecting people against petty crime, or she could go with the Senshi, risking it being a lie, and actually make a difference. She looked up at the Senshi, Sailor Mercurius, and then nodded. "All right, I'll do it."

"Excellent," Mercurius said. "Now we need to recruit your team."

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"Okay," 16 year-old Sailor Anog Ite said, shrugging her shoulders. This quick decision caught the other two senshi off guard.

"Wait, just like that?" Sailor Mercurius asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Anog Ite said. "It's better than chasing petty criminals all day."

"That's what I decided, too," Geb said, looking her future teammate over. She looked okay, but her hair was a little crazy. Geb couldn't decide if it was supposed to be like that or not. "I just didn't believer her at first, though," Geb added.

"Meh, what's life without a little risk?" Anog Ite asked.

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"I'll do it," 18 year old Sailor Ixtab said. She couldn't see the senshi speaking to her, but she could hear the sincerity and truth in their voices. "My world is protected from the outside, and the internal trouble are all…"

"…Petty?" Geb and Anog Ite finished.

"Yes," Ixtab said. "Petty, a complete waste of a Senshi's potential.

"Well then," Mercurius said, "I think it is time to make it official."


	2. Chapter 1: Rising Stars

**Episode 1: Rising Stars; The New IPI's**

On a small asteroid circling a barren moon, five Senshi waited anxiously for the return of the ragged Senshi, Sailor Mercurius, and hopefully the coming of new Senshi to replace her so they could get on with their mission.

"How long has Sailor Mercurius been gone?" the golden-haired Sailor Hikari asked. She was sitting at an ancient-looking table across from her partner and opposite, Sailor Mei.

'It's impossible to tell,' Mei replied in her usual telepathic manner. She was mute and so communicated directly, mind-to-mind. 'We have no basis for figuring out the passage of time.'

"It feels like forever," Hikari whined. Then she looked around the little dining room then waited in, realizing they were alone. "Say, where did everyone else go?"

'Daichi and Nebula said something about exploring the second floor,' Mei replied, looking to the ceiling. 'Nebula swears she keeps hearing something move up there.'

"And Tucana?"

'She's out on the surface. No, she's coming back in.' Mei and Hikari turned to the doorway into the dining room. Moments later, the brown-haired, green-eyed Sailor Tucana appeared.

"Did Mercurius say anything about food?" Tucana asked, going directly to the connected kitchen. She opened up cupboards, finding only a single empty box. She picked it up and tipped it for good measure, but it was empty.

"She didn't say anything," Hikari said as she got up and followed. "But she didn't say how long she would be gone, and if she thought she would be gone long, she wouldn't have left us without food, right?"

"Not unless she didn't THINK she would be gone long," Tucana said, putting the box back and searching other cupboards. Hikari watched her, realizing she was also getting very hungry.

'You don't need to worry about starving,' Mei said as she stood. 'Mercurius just arrived on the second floor in the company of three new Senshi. They are all coming down with Daichi and Nebula.' Mei, Hikari, and Tucana waited patiently in the hallway. They was the others come down the stairs and joined them as they followed Sailor Mercurius to the underground of the stone house.

"Please remain here," Mercurius said, Turning to Tucana, Nebula, Daichi, Mei, and Hikari. "You will not be permitted within, for you are not to become IPI's." They nodded and waited att he stairs, watching as Mercurius led the others across the bare basement to a set of stone doors on the other side. As they approached, the doors opened, but only enough for the Senshi to go in. As soon as they were past the doors, they closed. Sailors Geb and Anog Ite stopped and gasped. Sailor Ixtab, who they had been leading, was forced to also stop.

"What is it?" Ixtab asked. The two didn't respond as they stared. The room was small and dark, lit only by the light mysteriously coming from clear boxes that housed the sleeping, levitating forms of four young women and three young men.

"My siblings," Mercurius said. Geb and Anog Ite looked at her as she stood facing an eighth clear box in the middle. It was empty and dim. "My younger siblings and I were IPI's together, but I failed them." She turned to them. "IPI's, once inducted, cease to age physically, but are no less prone to injury. When an IPI dies, their body fades and comes here to their final resting place. Their share of the IPI power is divided among the survivors." Mercurius closed her eyes. "I watched as, one by one, my siblings died right before my eyes. Now, I will join them and we will be a family once again." She then opened her eyes and looked up at the three Senshi across the room. "When you take on the power of the IPI, our cases will release our bodies back to our dimension, where we will re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, and there will be three cases for you. In order for you to inherit the powers of the IPI's, I must die, and it must be at your hands."

"Wait, what?!" Geb shouted. "You can't be serious!"

"She is," Ixtab said. "Her honesty is matched only by her sorrow."

"I-I can't!" Geb cried. "I've never killed anything, and I never want to!"

"Just attack me," Mercurius said wearily. "Your combined unique attacks will all contribute and it will be quick, especially with me in such a weakened state."

Geb looked at Anog Ite and Ixtab. Anog Ite already had four white quills form her sash between her fingers, ready to throw; Ixtab was clenching her black noose at the ready. Geb sighed and summoned her staff.

"You must be in unison," Mercurius said. "Step into the circle, then attack." Mercurius motioned to a faded stone circle on the stone floor. Geb and Anog Ite, leading Ixtab, stepped into the circle as Mercurius closed her eyes. She held out her arms as the Senshi lifted their respected weapons.

"Earthly Strike!" Geb shouted, twirling twice and then stabbing the ground.

As the ground broke in Mercurius' direction, Anog Ite yelled, "Exsanguination!"

She threw the white quills as Ixtab screamed, "Death's Grasp!" She flung her noose forward. It stretched and flew at Mercurius of its own accord.

The ground broke beneath Mercurius. As she fell the quills impaled her in a straight, vertical line beginning in her neck and ending between her breasts. The Noose slipped around her neck and strangled her, intensifying the flow of the blood as her lower half was crushed by the closing of the ground. She bled freely, choking and sputtering as the last of her color drained from her face. Blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth as her eyes grew dark and she went limp.

Geb winced and turned away. Anog Ite had hear head bowed, as did Ixtab. They didn't watch as Mercurius' body faded, but the sudden light from the once-dim case caused them to look up. Mercurius appeared in her case, unharmed and serene. Then all of the cases began to glow much more brightly, then it became blinding. Outside, the other Senshi could see the light breaking through the outside edged of the stone doors.

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Geb and Anog Ite shielded their eyes from the blinding light. Then it faded. They turned to the origins of the light, but they were gone. In place of the eight clear cases were three dim, empty cases.

"I guess… it's official now," Geb said. Anog Ite stepped toward the cases, taking Ixtab with her. At Anog Ite's fifth wary step, the circle below them began to glow. Then, they began to glow. The couldn't see anything for a few moments, but even before the light had faded the Senshi could tell something had had been changed. They opened their eyes to find that they wore new fukus. They bore the same designs as the ones Mercurius and her siblings had worn, except that the colors were their own.

"Why did our uniforms change?" Ixtab asked as she felt the long sash-like collar of her uniform.

"Maybe now that we are IPI Senshi, we have different fukus," Geb offered as she examined her shoes.

"Mine is different, though," Anog Ite said, giving a slight tug on the sash that still held her quills. It was unchanged, and the belt of her fuku was altered to hold more quills.

"You know what, mine too," Geb said, running her finger over the symbol of her planet on her chest. Mercurius and the others had a different symbol. Then, Geb reached around and felt her back. The leather-and-stone holder she had made for her staff was still attacked to the back of her bodice.

"That's all fine and dandy," Ixtab said as she put a hand on her hip, "But maybe we should visit that pillar Mercurius mentioned that would help us understand our powers and positions."

"Yes, but quickly," Geb said, anchoring her staff. "The more time we spend here, the further 'The Collector' will get."

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"The entire asteroid moves through dimensions with us?" Anog Ite asked. Daichi nodded as they all headed outside.

"On our planet, we discovered a new and foreign satellite orbiting our planet, and when my partner and I investigated it we met Mercurius," Daichi explained.

"It was the same for us," Tucana added, "Except, when Nebula and I went to it, 'The Collector' was waiting for us. He took Nebula's mace. Right then and there." Nebula, who was leading Ixtab, hung her head in embarrassment. Hikari looked over at her and gently punched her arm.

"Hey, cheer up!" she said. "We'll get your mace back!" Nebula looked up at the cheerful Senshi with a sad face.

'Here it is,' Mei said, breaking up the conversation. They stopped and stood before a tall stone pillar. It was worn and looked older than old. Geb and Anog Ite stepped close enough to see very worn writing on it.

"It's really worn," Geb said. "It is a strange language, but…"

"…I can read it," Anog Ite finished. Geb nodded and the two began reading the text in the stone. After a short while, Anog Ite spoke again. "Three powers, three strengths, three weaknesses."

"What does that mean?" Ixtab asked, stepping closer to the sound of their voices.

"Apparently, there are three powers associated with being IPI Senshi," Anog Ite said, looking at Geb and Ixtab. "Three powers divided among the IPI's, no matter the number: The power of movement, sight, and sound."

"I don't suppose I got sight," Ixtab asked with a hint of hope.

"No, I did," Geb said. "It is the power of the leader. The power of sound is given to Senshi of two worlds, and movement is given to disadvantaged Senshi."

"Then I obviously have movement," Ixtab said, crossing her arms. "That leaves sound with Anog Ite, but are you of two worlds?"

"People thought so on my planet," Anog Ite said, rubbing her hand over the worn text. "Each half of my world is very different from the other, so I was always called the Senshi of two worlds."

"Sailor Mercurius must have used her power of sight to find the right Senshi," Daichi said. "Now, how to we find 'The Collector,' wherever he is?"

"That lies first with me," Geb said, placing her hand on the pillar and closing her eyes. "I have to find him"

"Then, it would be me," Ixtab said, reaching out and touching the pillar. "I would move the asteroid."

"And I," Anog Ite said, hesitantly reaching for the pillar, "Would guide up using the absence of sound between worlds." Her hand touched the pillar, and instantly the worn text became bright. The ground shook violently and suddenly, throwing the Senshi into each other, onto the ground, and on top of each other. Then the starry sky above them turned into a kaleidoscope of color. Then it was over as quickly as it had begun and the ground stopped shaking enough for the Senshi to stand. Tucana saw first a barren planetoid near to them, but it was Hikari who saw the beautiful blue and green marble in front of them.

"Look at that!" she exclaimed, pointing at it. "It's beautiful!" The other Senshi concurred and watched as their little asteroid slowly moved closer. Soon it seemed to stop, and moments after that the other three Senshi disconnected from the pillar. The looked a little peakish, but they seemed to recover quickly and joined the others in admiring the planet they now orbited.

"Do you think they will realize we are up here?" Hikari asked.

"The Senshi may," Tucana said.

"How do we know there are Senshi here?" Hikari asked.

"The Collector is here," Geb answered, "And he collects Senshi treasures, so that means there must be Senshi here."

"I hope we are not too late," Nebula said.

"Let us hope," Ixtab said with a hint of impatience, "But now let us go."


	3. Chapter 2: To a New World

**Episode 2: To a New World; Arrival on Earth**

Sailor Ixtab's new gift of movement proved useful in moving to the planet. She was able to create a large sphere that housed all of the Senshi. Sailor Geb and Anog Ite 'steered' the sphere through the atmosphere of the planet and toward a large island where Geb had seen the Collector through the pillar. She and Anog Ite maneuvered them through a large city, and all seemed well until their sphere was hit by a powerful force that grew them roughly onto the soft green ground.

Geb was the first to see their attackers, and recognized them as Senshi. To Geb's dismay, though, they didn't look friendly. There were four of them: a tall blond, a taller dark-skinned one, a small one, and a teal-haired one. The tallest held a staff and pointed it at them. The small one had a nasty-looking weapon that looked far too big for her to carry.

"Identify yourselves!" the blond declared. To Geb's horror, this one was holding her staff. Geb reached around to her back to see if she was mistaken, but there was no mistake.

"I am Sailor Geb," she responded as she slowly stood. The others followed her lead as she continued. "I am of the planet Geb in the Pantheon Nebula, and I would like to have my staff back."

"I don't think so," the blond said. "What are you doing on Earth?"

"Earth?" Geb said questioningly. "So that is the name of this world…"

"We are the Interdimensional Police Investigators," Anog Ite interrupted. "We are here in search of a man known only as 'The Collector.' He steals the weapons of Sailor Senshi from different dimensions. We've tracked him here, with intent to stop him."

"We see he hasn't gotten to you yet," Geb said. "If you are the Senshi of this planet, we might be able to use your assistance."

The four Senshi looked at each other for a moment, and then back at the newcomers. "We tend to not trust strange Senshi," the blond said. "We're having enough problems with evil Senshi from outside of our system. You are not welcome and should leave. Now."

"Now Uranus, have a little faith," Daichi suddenly said as she stepped out from behind the others. "I don't know how the timeline of this dimension has progressed in comparison to my own, so I don't know how different you are from the Sailor Uranus I know, but surely you should be concerned if there is another threat, especially one that can handicap your powers."

"How do you know me?" the blond named Uranus asked defensively.

"In my dimension, I have a connection to this system and its kingdoms," Daichi replied.

"There was only one kingdom in our system," the dark-skinned one said, "And that was the Kingdom of the Moon."

"Each dimension is going to be different," Ixtab intervened, taking Daichi's shoulder into both of her hands. "The only thing we have in common is the threat of the Collector. We don't want him stealing the treasures of this planet like those of their worlds." Ixtab motioned to her left, but no one was there.

"Whose worlds?" the small one asked, her guard dropping slowly.

"Over here," Tucana said. Ixtab switched hands, motioning to her right.

Geb groaned and hit her forehead with her hand. Then she sighed and asked, "Even if you won't believe us, could I at least have my staff back so we can be on our way and doing our job?"

"Go ahead, Uranus," the teal-haired Senshi said. "If they cause trouble, we will be sure to find them, but if their intentions are true then we should allow them to continue their mission." Uranus looked back at the beautiful Senshi and sighed with a nod. She stood straight and tossed the staff into the air. Geb gasped and lunged forward, grabbing it with both arms and stumbling a bit.

"Mark my words," Uranus said, "If you bring harm to anyone of Earth, I'll be there and you won't get away with it." The Senshi then turned and walked away. The others followed, though the small one hesitated first and watched Geb and the other before turning and jogging to catch up.

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'Well, that went well,' Mei mused as she leaned against a shaded tree. No one chose to respond to this. Rather, the IPI Senshi chose to take advantage of Daichi's surprising, though limited, knowledge of the planet's Senshi.

"There should be four more," Daichi told them. "Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. I can't be for sure, though, since this isn't my dimension."

"At least we can have an idea as to how many more to expect," Anog Ite said. "Unfortunately, they have a conflict of their own to worry about. We'll have to go it without them."

"Um, maybe we should change clothes," Hikari said as she watched some distant Earthlings. "we'll look out of place in anything we have."

"And where to you propose we get native clothing?" Geb asked. "We know nothing of this world."

Tucana raised her hand with a grin. "I was once proficient in thievery," she offered.

"No, no, we'll just stay like this and stay hidden," Anog Ite said. "We don't have time to try and fit in." This prompted an argument from all sides on what was best, causing Anog Ite to regret inputting her opinion. She decided to test her powers and see if she could tune them out. She ended up listening to things a distance away, but it was better than the arguing. However, as she listened she come across another argument.

"Give me the insence burner, now!" yelled a male's voice

"No!" shouted a young female's voice.

Then, Anog Ite could hear running, and then a struggled. "The Collector!" she shouted, catching everyone's attention instantly.

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The Senshi wasted no time following Sailor Geb and Anog Ite. They ended up at a large building, where a fight had broken out on the grounds, and not just any fight, but a fight between Senshi. At the center of attention seemed to be a blond-haired young woman. Opposite her was a red-haired woman in a brown fuku. To everyone's horror, the red-haired Senshi removed something from the woman, causing her to faint and the Senshi to laugh triumphantly. It didn't last long, though, as before the Senshi knew it something had hit the Senshi and a black hole erupted right where she was standing, sucking her in with the glowing object she had taken from the woman.

The Senshi ran forward and as they ran they saw a red-haired child with the unconscious woman. They were at risk of being pulled in, and without a second thought Sailor Daichi charged ahead of the others and summoning her whip she cracked it on the ground. This unspoken command brought vines up from the ground and around the woman and child. However, the force of the black hole tore the vines from the ground and pulled in the woman and child. Daichi cursed loudly as she skidded to a halt, unable to go further without the black hole getting her. The others stopped a bit behind her as one of the other Senshi attacked the black hole, but to no avail. Then, the black hole suddenly dissipated, and floating where the hole had been was a beautiful red-haired woman with the child. In her arms was the blond, and floating above her chest was the glowing object that had been stolen from her.

"Was 'the Collector' even here, Geb?" Nebula asked. Geb shook her head with a smile."

'Then why did we come?' Mei asked.

"Because there was trouble," Geb replied, walking to Daichi. The others shook their heads, but said nothing as they followed. Geb touched Daichi's shoulder and said, "Good job." Then she paused and said, "Well, good try anyway." Daichi gave a curt nod. Geb smiled and looked to the other Senshi. Her smile vanished when she saw Sailor Uranus coming toward them. Much to everyone's surprise, Geb turned on her heels and walked briskly in the other direction. She was caught by Anog Ite, who was snickering at their 'fearless' leader.

Daichi stood her ground as Uranus approached. The blond-haired Senshi stopped and stared at Daichi, contemplating and sizing her up. "Thank you," she said before turning and returning to the others. Daichi smiled and tilted her head in a small nod.

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"I must have heard him chasing the child and mistook it for the Collector," Anog Ite sighed. She and the others were next to a temple where inside the native Senshi were having a meeting.

"Why was he chasing the child?" Tucana asked.

"I don't remember," Anog Ite replied. She was disappointed that she hadn't heard the Collector. Rather, it had been an ally Senshi in the disguise of a man who was chasing a child for… something.

"Mei, what are they talking about?" Hikari asked, looking over to her partner. Mei had been staring at the doors for some time now.

'They were talking about protecting that girl from earlier,' Mei said, 'But now they are discussing the likelihood of us being the enemy and working for someone named 'Galaxia.' It sounds like we do have a few supporters in there.' Then she straightened up. 'They are coming out.' They all stood as the doors opened and the native Senshi filed out. They all looked slightly different out of uniform.

"So, what is the verdict?" Tucana asked.

"We have to believe that there is more danger than Galaxia," the tall brown-haired one said.

"But Galaxia is the greater and more pronounced threat," the blue-haired one added.

"So what you're saying is that we are on our own," Ixtab finished.

"Well, yes," the blue-haired one said. "We'll watch out for the man you described, but Galaxia's threat is the one we need to focus on."

"We understand," Geb said, "However, we will keep close. After all, you will be his targets."

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"Stupid idea, so stupid…" Anog Ite muttered under he breath as she tamed her hair. She wasn't a Senshi anymore, though. Now she was simply Enapay, the person she was born as, in an Earthling school uniform. Geb and the smart blue-haired Senshi Sailor Mercury, or rather Ami, had come up with the idea of blending in and splitting up. It was unwilling with some Senshi, but everyone had split up and gone with different Earth Senshi. The plan made some, namely Daichi and Anog Ite, unhappy, but the feeling was mutual. Sailor Uranus was equally unhappy.

"Enapay-san, are you ready?" Ami asked through the door to the room called a 'bathroom.' Enapay sighed and stared at her reflection. She normally-crazy hair was flat and pulled back into a ponytail. She sighed again and opened the door. Ami was standing there waiting and giggled. "You need to tie the bow," she said as she took the ends of the scarf and tied them into a bow. "There, now you are ready."

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When Ami and Enapay arrived at the school, the others who were supposed to be there were already waiting. The blond-haired Minako was yawning into the back of her hand. "She says she's not used to getting up as early as we did," Hikari said with a smile. She then looked over at Mei, who stood still next to Usagi. Mei had stayed with Usagi and Hikari with Minako, all under the watchful eyes of cats that could, to their surprise, talk like Earthlings. Nebula and Geb were with Sailor Mars at another school and Tucana, Daichi, and Ixtab were with Sailor Uranus and the others.

"Okay, you three will patrol the school incase this 'Collector' shows up," the brown-haired Makoto said. "We'll stay with Usagi." Everyone nodded in agreement except for Usagi.

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Haruka was quiet as she drove Michiru and their guest to Michiru's lessons. Hotaru, Setsuna, and the other two would already be there. Once in a while, Haruka would glance into the rearview mirror at the grey-haired Daichi. At the start of the drive, Daichi had been clutching to the back of Michiru's seat for dear life. Now, she seemed at least a little relaxed.

Haruka pulled up to the hall and swore she saw Daichi leap from the car like a frog. She clearly wasn't the only one who had seen it.

"These contraptions aren't that bad, are they?" Tucana laughed with her arms crossed.

"They are… interesting," Daichi said, regaining her composure as she brushed the shirt she was wearing. Tucana smirked as everyone filed into the music hall. Michiru's class, Hotaru included, was already waiting. While Michiru set up for class, Daichi and Tucana had already disappeared somewhere into the hall. Ixtab stayed close to the Senshi, as they had discovered that each of the four carried items. Setsuna stayed close as well, but Haruka went to follow the other two.


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting Conflict

**Episode 3: Meeting Conflict; The Collector Surfaces**

Nebula and Geb, in spare uniforms provided by Rei, kept out of sight of the student population as Geb continued to use her gift of sight to search for the Collector. Nebula stayed close by, making sure they weren't disturbed.

"Anything yet, Tale?" Nebula asked, using Geb's non-Senshi name. She turned her attention to the girl whose eyes were open and glowing. She then closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again as their normal brown selves.

"Nothing," she sighed. "I'm so inexperienced; if I were better, I would have found him by now."

"You just became an IPI," Nebula said in a reassuring manner. "I wouldn't expect you to be perfect at it." Tale nodded and glanced past Nebula. Her eyes grew wide.

"Nebula!" Nebula turned around and saw a man that fit Geb's description of 'the Collector,' from the off-white mask to the funny blue hat with the odd brown brim and the long blue coat with matching brown trim. Tale jumped up and lifted her hand. "Geb Pantheon, Make-Up!"

"Nebula Power, Make-Up!" Nebula shouted. The school uniforms vanished and were replaced by their Senshi uniforms. They got into defensive stances and watched 'the Collector' warily.

"You'll be too late!" he shouted from his place at the other end of the school wall. "You won't stop me." He smirked and then ran around the corner. Geb and Nebula ran after his and rounded the corner in time to see him holding Sailor Hikari's staff and vanishing through a golden portal.

"Wait, he can use our weapons?" Nebula shouted.

"So it seems," Geb replied quietly.

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"She really does make beautiful music," Tucana admitted as she and Daichi stood outside the doors to Michiru's class. They were listening as she played a bit piece of music for her students. Daichi nodded, and then she noticed Haruka approaching them.

"Where have you two been?" she asked testily.

"What, keeping tabs on us?" Tucana asked. "That makes me think you don't trust us."

"That is because I don't," Haruka said.

"No offense, of course," Daichi said sarcastically. Haruka responded, but it was drowned out by the screams of Michiru's class.

"Everyone, get out!" they heard Michiru shout. Then ran in, wading through the kids, to see the entire back of the music hall classroom was on fire.

"How did it start?" Tucana shouted.

"Kaki's sword!" Daichi replied. "I recognize the color of the flames!"

"Then that means the Collector is here!" Ixtab exclaimed. She held up her hand and shouted, "Ixtab Pantheon, Make-Up!"

"Daichi Element, Transform!"

"Tucana Power, Make-Up!" The three transformed in an instant, but the Earth Senshi did not. They regretted this when the fire suddenly came at them. They were shoved out of the way by the other three, but Tucana was burned.

"Tucana!" Hotaru shouted from under the injured Senshi.

"I'm fine," Tucana said through gritted teeth as she pushed herself up.

"Uranus Planet Power!"

"Neptune Planet Power!"

"Pluto Planet Power!"

"Saturn Planet Power!"

"MAKE-UP!" Together the four Earth Senshi transformed. It took less that a moment after that for Saturn to hit the floor, her glaive being torn from her hands. The Senshi watched in horror as the man matching 'the Collector's' description landed proudly in the doorway, Saturn's glaive held triumphantly in his hand.

"As I told your leader, you won't stop me," the man boasted.

"Want to bet?" 'The Collector turned his head, to look over his shoulder, only to have his face connect with Daichi's fist.

"How did she do that?" Tucana exclaimed.

"I don't care as long as I get my glaive back!" Saturn yelled as she ran at the fallen Collector. She grabbed her glaive, but 'the Collector' still hand a hand on it. He swiped his other arm under Saturn's legs, easily causing the small girl to fall. He then rolled out of the way of Daichi's whip and jumped up. He had hardly been upright for more than a few second before Ixtab took action.

"Death's Grasp!" she shouted, whipping her black noose in front of her. The noose extended and went after its intended target, going safely over the blade and tightening around the neck, allowing Ixtab to rip it out of the Collector's grasp with ease. This caught the Collector off-guard, making him am easy target for Uranus' attack.

"World Shaking!" she shouted, sending her golden orb at the man. It struck him head-on. When the light of the attack was gone, the Senshi were surprised to see the Collector in better shape than he should have been. He stood shakily, badly burned in places but otherwise okay. He looked up angrily at his attacker. Then out of nowhere he pulled out Hikari's Staff of Golden Day.

Daichi didn't know if he could use it or not, but she wasn't willing to chance it. "No, get him!" she shouted. It was too late, as he had already used the staff's power to open a golden gate, stepping through it and vanishing.

"You didn't say he could use the items!" Uranus shouted in surprise.

"We didn't know until now," Tucana said.

"I'm glad I got my glaive back," Saturn said as she took it back from Ixtab. "It would have been disastrous in his hands."

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"Is she okay?" Hikari asked, looking upward through the rain to the school's roof where Usagi had just been attacked.

'She is unharmed,' Mei said. 'She is profoundly sad about someone dear to her, but is otherwise unharmed.' Hikari and Enapay let loose a breath of relief, but had to suck it back in quickly. 'They have more company, our kind of company.' Up on the roof, the Senshi were already on the defense, staring at the battered man before them.

"I want what you have," he said to Seiya and Usagi. Then he turned to the other Senshi. "You have nothing I want." He pulled a crystal fan out of nowhere and swiped it at the Senshi. The small swipe sent a huge gust of wind at the Senshi, throwing them backwards down the stairs and slamming the door shut with such for that it dented. As he tucked the fan back away and turned around, he found that Seiya had already transformed into Sailor Star Fighter.

"Star Serious Laser!" she shouted. Her attack missed the Collector, as he had jumped into the air, twisting and landing on the fencing that surrounded the roof. Out of thin air he pulled a silver staff with a black, upside-down crescent moon on the top that was flanked by silver wings.

"I haven't tried this one yet," he said. He lifted is up and the moon glinted. Them a black beam shot at Star Fighter and Usagi, creating a black dome around them. "I lot of good that does me," he said. "I can't get in." He hopped down and walked to the dome, staff still I hand. He stopped just short of the dome, and then it receded. Star Fighter threw her fist at him, but he swung the staff up and struck Star Fighter right in the head. Star Fighter fell down, dropping her Star Yell. It skidded across the wet roof to the Collector's feet, where he scooped it up. Then both it and the staff vanished and the Collector turned to Usagi, who still sat on her legs with her brooch clutched tightly in her hands. "Now, I'll be taking your brooch-"

The Collector was cut off by the roof door suddenly flying at him. He jumped out of the way as the door cut through the fencing and disappeared. He glared at the army of Senshi that now filed out of the doorway, all aiming at him.

"I see my trip is cut short," he said, running to the fencing. He stopped, lifting up what looked like a wine bottle decorated with jewels. The jewels glowed as the Senshi attacked. Their attacks merged, collecting at the source of the glowing. They collided, but only for a moment before both the attacks and the Collector vanished.

--------------------------------------------

"I still can't believe he can use our things," Nebula moaned, her head in her hands.

"You're telling me," Hikari said. "He's using my staff to move around, Kaki's sword and Aria's fan to attack, and Mei's staff to trap us. Say, where did he get that bottle?" Hikari looked at the others. They all sat close to the pillar as they waited for the IPI Senshi to return from Earth.

"It may not have belonged to a Senshi," Tucana said. "That is obviously how he moves between dimensions, so unless he took it from a Senshi in his dimension, I highly doubt it was a Senshi's." Hikari thought about this and then nodded.

'They're returned,' Mei said, turning toward the pillar. Geb, Anog Ite, and Ixtab appeared around it. The others stood and approached them. 'So?'

"We won't be having any guests from this dimension, if that's what you mean," Ixtab said.

"She means Star Fighter," Hikari said. "Will she be okay without her weapon?"

"Their weapons are technology based," Geb said. "Her princess had a spare."

"Well, that's good," Daichi said. "Now what say we go get the Collector?" The others nodded and the IPI's placed their hands on the pillar as the others sat down, bracing themselves for the ride.

The stone glowed as Geb searched. "I found him," she said with some amusement. "This is going to be a short trip." The glow of the pillar fluctuated as the stars turned into a kaleidoscope of color. The jolt came, but it wasn't drastic like before. The colors vanished quickly and the stars returned. The Senshi stood, and found they had hardly moved. In fact, they could still see Japan.


	5. Chapter 4: The Next Dimension

"Ne, what do you mean you can't find him?" Hikari whined as she walked in between Tale and Mei. Their group had swiped some native clothing to wear as they made a second trip to Tokyo, Japan.

"I don't know, I just can't," Tale said irritably.

'You are distracted,' Mei said. 'Concentrate a little more.'

"This is still new to us, Mei," Enapay reminded Mei. "We aren't going to be able to use our gifts on a whim."

"So is it just me or does it seem like we never left?" Tucana asked. She and Ixtab, otherwise known as Kimi, were leading the group. "Nothing seems different."

"Well, not everything is going to be different, right?" Nebula said. "After all, didn't you guys say that each dimension is part of the same universe? So theoretically, won't there be similarities?" The others shrugged. Nebula looked over at Daichi, but noticed she seemed to be in pain. "Daichi? What's wrong?" Daichi, who was partially hunched over, glanced over at Nebula.

"I don't... feel well," Daichi said weakly. "I feel very... ill." Nebula immediately took Daichi's arm and everyone stopped, turning to the two who had been bringing up the rear.

"Maybe we should find somewhere to sit down," Tucana suggested.

"Come on, I don't have all day. We know she's in this park somewhere. Tell me or Cerberus will eat you alive!" Enapay snapped her head to her left.

"No time to rest, there's trouble!" she shouted, pulling a quill from her hair. She looked down as Daichi helplessly fell to her knees, groaning in pain. Nebula looked up at everyone pleadingly.

"You guys go on ahead!" Nebula said. "I'll stay with Daichi, just go and do what must be done!"

------------------------------------------

"I am Kornephoros! Do not mistake me for my former colleague ever again!"

"Well, at least the Senshi are the same," Tucana whispered to Anog Ite. They and the others, sans Daichi and Nebula, were crouched low in the shade of some trees. All of the Senshi before them were familiar, except for one with long green hair. They took note of the flute in the girl's hands.

"A target for the Collector," Geb said, her staff securely in her hands. "And of course, he could go after the weapons of the other senshi, too."

"Or anything the enemy has," Anog Ite said. "We must be on our guard."

"Come with me, Dragon child," the man named Kornephoros said to the unfamiliar senshi. "You will show us the Tree and become my Master's eternal slave."

"Over my dead body," the green-haired senshi said as she ripped her arm from the man's grasp. She looked like she contemplated for a moment, and then her flute began to glow. "Draco Harmony Blast!" the senshi shouted. Kornephoros clutched his ears and the senshi went for the dog.

"This is far from over, Draco. Until next time." Kornephoros bowed mockingly, and then vanished.

"Well, that wasn't much to worry about," Geb said. Then she and the others felt themselves flying through the air. They landed hard, skidding to a halt near the other senshi. Geb was the only one to see the flash of the Collector as he ran into the trees. "The Collector!" Geb shouted, jumping up and running after him. The others were in no condition, as black energy was growing over them. Geb was long gone, taking no notice of the others.

The other senshi backed away as the unfamiliar senshi before them were slowly enveloped in black energy. They withered to the ground until they could not be seen, then one of the black clouds exploded. From the black mass emerged Sailor Mei. She had a dagger in her hand, and with it she lunged at another cloud. She cut through the cloud like fabric, releasing Sailor Tucana. She then released Ixtab, and then Hikari. She got to Anog Ite last, and this was not good. While the others were able to stand, shaky as they were, Anog Ite was flat on her back and unconscious.

"Mei, was that-"

'Yes, it was,' Mei replied as she took Anog Ite into her arms. 'None of you go after Geb, you must stay with me. I must make sure you are all well, beginning with Anog Ite.'

"I'm not going anywhere," Tucana said, slowly sinking to her knees. She held her self, rocking slightly. "Mei, what-"

'Another time,' Mei said, placing her hand on Anog Ite's forehead as she began a desperate attempt to rescue Anog Ite from the depth of her nightmares.

------------------------------------------------------

Geb charged through the park after the Collector. He had begun as only a blur in front of her, but now she was gaining ground. Then, they were out of the park. Geb skidded to a halt in the middle of the street. She looked furiously to see where he had gone. Then she heard a blaring noise. She turned and saw a large Earth vehicle coming at her. She jumped up into its front, then onto the top, running until she could jump off of the back. As she landed in the road, she caught sight of the Collector cutting through an alley. She followed, skidding around the corner into the alley, not bothering to slow down. Only once had she ever chased anyone to this extent, and it had been as much of a thrill as it was now.

The alley ended with a wall, but it didn't stop either of them. The Collector scrambled up a fire escape, with Geb hot on his heels. The two climbed all the way to the roof. Geb skipped the last ladder and simply leapt clean up to the roof. When she landed, she found the Collector waiting. He stood straight and erect, his hands behind his back and his masked face staring right at Geb. Peeking over his shoulder was a staff that Geb knew to be Sailor Mei's.

"That was interesting," the Collector said. "This staff may be more useful than I thought."

Geb was going to respond, but then she glanced behind her, and realized she was all alone. She looked angrily at the Collector. "What did you do to the others?!" she shouted.

"I learned a new trick with Sailor Mei's staff," the Collector said as he pulled the staff forward. "Of course, I had to spare the leader. What fun would it be to incapacitate all of you at once? I wouldn't have any competition for that lovely flute, otherwise."

"You won't get it," Geb said. "This ends now."

"Oh, I beg to differ," the Collector smirked. "This is only beginning." He held the staff up as Geb ran headlong at him. A black beam shot from the staff and hit Geb, surrounding her in a black dome. "Until next time, Sailor Geb!" the Collector said as he saluted. In his other hand appeared Hikari's staff, and with it he opened a golden gate and disappeared.

Geb swore, her curse going unheard in the black dome.

---------------------------------------

Enapay groaned as she tossed and turned, her cold sweat and fever making her nightmares worse than they were. Nearby, Kimi lay on her stomach, her face buried in her pillow as she tried to shut out the dark images in her mind. At the other end, Hikari and Tucana whispered quietly between each other, trying to help each other cope with their own nightmares. Down the hall and at the foot of the stairs sat Geb, her head in her hands and her staff carelessly tossed on the floor.

'Geb.' Geb looked up and turned to look at the top of the stairs. Mei stood up that, motioning for Geb to come up. She slowly stood and walked up, taking each step carefully and meekly. 'As careless as it was for you to run off like that, you mustn't blame yourself,' Mei told her. 'The Collector laid a trap, and it was only natural to fall into it.'

"I never noticed you weren't following," Geb said with a weak voice.

'Even if you had, it wouldn't have done any good to come back for us,' Mei reassured her. 'I'm the only one who can help them. 'Solitude, Confinement' is the curse of my staff. Only I am immune, and only I can have any hope of helping them.' Mei motioned for Geb to follow. 'It is up to you to find Daichi and Nebula, and it is up to your three to stop the Collector. Kimi has already said she can send you safely back to Tokyo.'

"But I-"

'Geb,' Mei interrupted. 'You must.' The two entered the room the other four Senshi shared. Tucana and Hikari took no notice as they continued to whisper feverishly to each other. Kimi turned her head, her blank, white glass eyes staring into the room. 'Kimi, Geb is ready.'

"Of course," Kimi said, her normally strong and mature voice now only a meek whisper. Geb approached Kimi tentatively, then placed her hand on Kimi's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Geb whispered. "I'll try to make it right."

"Don't try too hard," Kimi whispered as she touched Geb's arm. In an instant, Geb was gone.

----------------------------------------

Nebula paced back and forth behind the bench Daichi rested on. It was dark now. Nebula didn't know how long ago she and Daichi had been left by the others, but it had been too long now. Daichi was still in pain, and Nebula didn't know how to help her.

She stopped her pacing and went to the bench. She looked over the back to Daichi, whose eyes were closed and face was screwed with pain. "Oh Daichi, I wish I knew what to do," Nebula said sadly. Daichi peeked one eye open and looked at Nebula.

"Honestly, you'd think you were my mother," she said, her voice forced. Then she smiled. "Honestly."

"Well, I'm worried," Nebula said. "First this, and now we've seem to have been forgotten by the others."

"Well, Geb will find us in time," Daichi said as she pushed herself up. Nebula panicked and ran around to Daichi's front.

"Wait, maybe you shouldn't sit up!" she cried.

"Didn't you just say you didn't know what to do?" Daichi said. "Look, I'm tired of laying around like mold on a tree. You and I are going to look for the others." She then made to stand up. Nebula grasped her arm and helped her stand. Since she really didn't know what was best, she followed Daichi's lead. Daichi always seemed to know what she was doing. She pulled Daichi's arm over her shoulder and the two hobbled deeper into the dark park.


	6. Chapter 5: Geb's Confliction

"Hello?" The street Sailor Geb stood on was dark. "Is anyone here?" She heard a noise behind her that made her gasp and turn. She saw two figures running into an alley. "Daichi! Nebula!" she shouted, running after them. She turned into the alley, but it wasn't an alley anymore. She was in a room. There were four beds, and in each bed was Anog Ite, Ixtab, Tucana, and Hikari. They looked like they were sleeping, but they tossed and turned. Geb turned to run in fright, but ran into Mei.

"It's all your fault!" Mei shouted, but it wasn't her voice. Mei's form melted into that of Sailor Mercurius, in the bloody condition she had been after the Senshi had killed her. "No, it's my fault: I chose the wrong leader." Geb turned back around to run, but she had to stop, as she was suddenly on the edge of the roof where she had chased the Collector. She steadied and looked down. Then, she felt like someone was watching her. She turned, and saw the Collector lunging at her. She screamed and felt herself fall. Then she hit the ground.

Or rather, she hit the floor. Tale yelled and struggled with the blanket she had so cocooned herself in. She got on her hands and knees, gasping and looking around frantically. It took a moment, but she remembered where she was. She sighed, then realized that a cat was sitting right in front of her, staring at her. "Good morning, Demeter," Tale said in in one breath that tapered into a sigh.

"Good morning indeed," Demeter said as she watched Tale pick herself up. "It's a wonder you don't wake up Ryuu with all that noise."

"You are exaggerating," Tale said as she folded the blanket.

"I am not," Demeter said as she jumped onto the couch. "You cry and yell, moan and groan in distress, and you kick as well. This is cause for concern."

"If it is, then it is not you who should be concerned," Tale said. "You should concern yourself with Ryuu and the others, but not me." Tale turned and headed to the bathroom.

"But I should," Demeter continued as she followed. "If you are really dedicated to protecting Draco's flute and stopping this 'Collector,' then I should be concerned for you just as much as the others."

"Whatever," Tale said as she closed the bathroom door in the cat's face. Demeter shook her head and went in to wake Ryuu. Tale sighed and, placing her hands on the sink, leaned in toward the mirror. She closed her eyes and focused on Daichi and Nebula's faces. She focused then on the city, and tried to see their faces in the city. It was no use. She couldn't find them, yet again. It was all she did all day as she shadowed Ryuu at school, masquerading as a Juuban student. Yet no mater how many times she tried to focus, she couldn't find them. "It's all my fault," she whispered as she opened her eyes to look at her reflection. She then turned and reached for the Juuban uniform Ryuu was loaning to her. "All my fault…"

--------------------------------------------

"Konnichi wa, Usagi-san. Konnichi wa, minna-san."

"Konnichi wa!"

"Sorry it took me so long…" The usual chatter continued, just as it had the past three days now. And as usual, Tale was standing a short distance away. It was enough to not intrude, but close enough to still hear them. It was nice, listening to their group. They were all such good friends that it made Tale happy, but also sad. She had never had friends on her planet, Geb.

Tale sighed and looked up at the trees. She then closed her eyes and tried again. First Daichi and Nebula's face, then the city… then nothing. She hung her head, uncrossing her arms and wrapping them around it. "Why?" she asked herself. "Why can't I see them? What is wrong with me? Why?" She took a few moments to wonder why, and then unwrapped her head and looked back over to the group. Some of them were laughing. The black-haired one seemed to be the focal point. She remembered that it was Sailor Star Fighter, the one who had lost her weapon in the previous dimension. She couldn't remember the name of the male version of Star Fighter, and frankly she couldn't care less. It was day four since they had arrived, since the Collector had knocked out four Senshi, since they had lost track of Daichi and Nebula, and all Tale could think of was finding those missing Senshi and making the Collector pay for what he had done.

"The Collector," Tale murmured. Had he attacked Daichi and Nebula? He could have, since they still had weapons. Had he captured them? Tale had to wonder. Daichi was strong and both were good Senshi, but Daichi had been in pain, undoubtedly ill, the last time they'd seen her. She groaned and crouched down, holding her head in her hands. She was stirred from her thoughts by the ring of the bell. It was time for Tale to disappear again, since she couldn't just join the Senshi in their classes. She stood and watched them walk away. All of them except for Sailor Venus. She had been walking with the others, but she had turned and seen Tale standing alone.

"I'll be right back!" Minako told the others as she ran toward Tale. Tale didn't know whether to run or stay. She ended up staying. "Ne, Tale-chan," Minako said, taking Tale's arm. "You should have joined us!"

"I would have been intruding," Tale said quietly.

"Nonsense!" Minako said as she pulled Tale toward the building.

"Wait, I shouldn't-"

"Nonsense!" Minako said again. "No one will notice you! You shouldn't have to stay out here all alone!"

"No, really," Tale said, pulling herself away. "I'm fine." She then turned and walked away.

"Well, you're definitely coming to the picnic!" Minako yelled before running to the building.

"Picnic?" Tale turned and watched Minako run away. "What is a 'picnic?'"

-----------------------------------

"Okay, now I'm worried," Daichi sighed as she lounged under a tree. "We should have found SOMEONE by now."

"Or they should have found us," Nebula said as she braided some long grasses. "You can't walk far, there can't be any expectation that we will find them, especially since we haven't left this… park, is it? Besides, Geb has the power of sight and Anog Ite the power of sound. Either one should have found us." Daichi nodded and closed her eyes. Despite the shade, the light was making her headache worse.

"How many days has it been?" Daichi asked.

"I can't remember," Nebula said. "This planet is so different from Dohisei. Our days are so long and nights so short, I'm still not used to the change."

"You know, I was born on Dohisei," Daichi said. Nebula gasped and looked over at her companion.

"You were?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, the Dohisei of my dimension," Daichi added. "I was later relocated to a planet called Maygo, and then to Sol, and finally to Tal, where we met the Collector."

"Wow," Nebula whispered. "Tell me, what is your Dohisei like?" Daichi didn't reply. "Daichi?" Nebula crawled over to her and looked at her. Daichi's mouth was slightly hung open, and there was a soft snore coming from her. "Ne, sleep well, Daichi," Nebula whispered. "You need all you can get."

--------------------------------------------------

It was so awkward… Tale sat sort of next to Ryuu. There was a fair amount of space between them, but Tale had done that on purpose. She eyed the unfamiliar Earth foods, resigning herself to the food Ryuu had brought. The Starlights arrived and Tale moved a little more after Star Maker had sat next to Ryuu. There was talk of past enemies, and one caught her attention.

"Galaxia?" Tale questioned. "You've already defeated her?" The others looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, what?" Usagi said with a mouthful of potato chips.

"Well, in the dimension I was just in, you were still fighting Galaxia," Tale explained. "But, you say you've already faced her, and clearly you've won."

"Perhaps time passes quickly as you go from one dimension to another," Ami suggested.

"Or, maybe we know no time limit," Tale said quietly. "Perhaps we can pass through time as easily as dimensions." She sighed. "There is so little we know. I wish…" She sighed again and shook her head.

"Tale!" Tale gasped and whipped her head around. In the distance was Nebula, waving both her arms in excitement. "Tale!!"

"Nebula!" Tale shouted, jumping to her feet. "Where-"

"Transform!" Nebula shouted. "Hurry! There's trouble!" As though queued, screams could be heard from the far end of the park. There were screams of a monster attacking children.

"Minna, henshin yo!" Usagi shouted once the people were gone. The others transformed as Tale ran at Nebula.

"Nebula, where is Daichi?" she yelled.

"She's back on her feet," Nebula said, "And she's already gone after the monster!"

"Follow her!" Geb said. "I need to stay by Sailor Draco!" Nebula nodded and ran. Geb held up her hand. "Geb Pantheon, Make-Up!"

---------------------------------

"Earth Quake!" Daichi shouted as she cracked her whip on the ground. The ground cracked, running toward the monster. It jumped out of the way.

"Let me try something!" Daichi heard Venus shouted. Daichi jumped out of the way as Venus shouted, "Venus Love Me Chain!" Venus' attack wrapped around the monster, what Draco had called a chimera, and stopped it in its tracked. The monster struggled, and then the chains snapped. It turned angrily on Venus.

"Draco Harmony Blast!" Draco shouted, stopping it in its tracks.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" Sailor Moon shouted. The monster was hit and turned back into a stuffed lion, a plastic snake, and a stuffed goat.

"I wish we could figure out why we're being attacked by these things," Star Fighter mused. "It-" Before Star Fighter could finish, everyone was blown away by a great gust of wind.

"Another one?!" Draco shouted as she picked herself back up.

"Guess again," said a voice. Draco turned and was met with another gust of wind. She flew into the arms of Sailor Star Maker, and when she straightened up she realized her flute was gone.

"The Collector!" Nebula shouted.

"Correction, the victor!" the Collector shouted, holding Draco's flute in the air. In his other hand was the jeweled bottle.

"No, stop!" Geb shouted, pointing her staff at the Collector. "Earthly Strike!" She stabbed the ground, sending a shockwave at the Collector. He jumped into the air to avoid it as the bottle glowed. Daichi ran forward, cracking her whip at the Collector in hopes of snaring him. The end of the whip disappeared as the Collector disappeared into a blinding light. Daichi yelled as she was suddenly pulled forward. She hit the ground as she lost her grip on her whip. The light then vanished, along with Daichi's whip.

-------------------------------------------

"I swear to you, we will recover your flute," Geb said. "I promise we will." Draco could only nod, her hands clasped tightly under her chin. "I… I'm sorry I failed to prevent this."

"It is okay," Ixtab said, putting her hand on her younger leader's shoulder. "I promise we will recover it AND we will not let him gain another inch."

"Please do," Draco said as she looked at the gaunt Senshi before her. She then looked at Anog Ite, who looked equally gaunt. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else. If I weren't needed here, I would join you in your mission."

"There's a bit of a crowd anyway," Hikari said as cheerful as usual. Of the four, she seemed to have best recovered from the previous attack. "And like you said, you're needed here, but don't worry, we'll get your flute and Daichi's whip and everything else back pronto, you'll see!"

"I hope you're right," Sailor Star Fighter said. The other Senshi nodded.

"We'd better get going," Daichi said quietly from the back. The others nodded and Ixtab lifted her hand. In an instant, they were gone.

"Good luck," Draco said.


	7. Chapter 6: Separation

The asteroid orbited dutifully above the exotic planet below. Its atmosphere swirled with different colors. This worried the senshi, but they were more worried about their dreadfully-ill companion. Daichi's recovery from her illness in the previous dimension had been short lived, for now she was confined to bed with the fever and chills. For now she slept, but it was clearly a nightmarish sleep from the way she tossed and turned. It reminded Geb of how the others had been after being attacked with Mei's staff.

The senshi all stood in the hall outside of the room where Daichi slept. They were all worried. "Surely we can't take her with us," Tucana said. "After what happened in the last dimension, no way!"

"But we can't just leave her!" Hikari protested.

"But we must," Ixtab said. "We can't take her to the planet, she would draw too much attention."

"She must remain," Anog Ite said, holding up her hand to stop Hikari's protests. "She is ill. To take her somewhere could make it worse. In her feverish state, she could draw unwanted attention to us. She is safer here on the asteroid, where someone can and will remain behind with her to care for her." The others looked at each other. Anog Ite had never sounded so... calm.

"I'll stay behind," Nebula said. "I more or less took care of her on Earth, plus I'm pretty much useless without my mace anyway."

"Unfortunately,you're right," Geb said. The others nodded.

"Don't worry, though," Tucana said. "We'll work our hardest to get your mace and Daichi's whip back, among other things, of course." Tucana winked and Nebula smiled.

'Perhaps it would be possible to find medicinal help on the planet,' Mei suggested. 'Perhaps, should we interect with the other senshi, they could help with Daichi.'

"Good thinking," Geb said. "Now, we need to go." Ixtab put her hands together, as she always did after discovering that it helped her focus. The group brightened, and then disappeared. Nebula sighed and quietly opened the door to Daichi's room. She peered inside and watched as Daichi tossed to her other side. Nebula sighed worriedly.

--

The surface of the planet was as beautiful as its atmosphere. The plants were lush and colorful, the air was clear and fresh, and the clothes were elegant and beautiful. What seemed to be missing, though, were men.

The senshi stayed hidden as they watched the inhabitants of the city walk along the marketplace. The shoppers were female, the vendors were female, and even the patrolling guards were female. There were no men to be seen anywhere. "This is very strange," Anog Ite said. "There are no men."

"We shall blend in well then," Ixtab said.

"They also do not walk in groups," Geb said. "They are all in pairs, no more and no less. Even the vendors do not go alone. We shall have to split up."

"I don't like that idea," Hikari said.

'We don't have a choice,' Mei said. 'I've been exploring the minds of the guards. They have their laws sewn well into their minds. Men are not allowed out of doors in the day, all individuals must be in pairs, and all must display the insignia.'

"Insignia?" Tucana looked down to a pair of vendors. One had white hair, and the other black. Both wore upon their left shoulder what looked like a badge. It was a diamond with a circle upon each corner and a four-point star in the middle.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Geb asked.

'Appearance seems to be important,' Mei continued. 'Hair must be restrained accordingly and jewelry is required.'

"Required?" Anog Ite said as she began to undo her hair. "Mei, you'll need to instruct us in how to make ourselves appropriate."

"We'll need to find clothing," Hikari said. She looked around from their little alley hiding spot and found many pieces strung high above the alley. "There!"

Geb and Anog Ite were about to protest to stealing, but Tucana interrupted them. "I see them," Tucana said with a devilish smirk. She ran at the wall and jumped. She kicked off of it, heading to the opposite one. She kicked off of it and reached for the clothes. She grabbed them by the armful. It took three tries, twice going back and forth, and the third as she came down. She landed gracefully. "I love it when things are easy."

--

Around and around, then down it fell. Nebula sighed and picked up the small disk and set it to spin again. Around and around... Suddenly there was a sound. Nebula picked up her head instantly and listened. There was movement, undoubtedly from upstairs. Nebula jumped to her feet and hurried to the stairs. She was met by Daichi, flush-faced with dark bags under her eyes. "Daichi, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I can't sleep," Daichi said quietly. "I keep dreaming... Something familiar... Somewhere..." Nebula watched as Daichi walked away. She shook her head, her mouth slightly hung open, before following her. This led Nebula to a set of stairs she hadn't remembered seeing on previous excursions through the castle-like building. Daichi went down them into the darkness. Nebula snagged a candelabra from the hall table before following.

"Daichi, wait for me," Nebula said. She hurried down the stairs, but she had yet to see Daichi appear in the candle light. "Dai-" Nebula gasped as Daichi suddenly appeared in the light right in front of her. She was still, and staring at the wall. Nebula looked and found a large painting. Nebula lifted the candle higher and found just a short distance away another painting. There seemed to be yet another just beyond it. Nebula turned her attention back to the painting Daichi gazed upon. There were three senshi, in uniforms not unlike those that Geb, Anog Ite, and Itxtab wore. The coloring was different, but the design was the same. "Are those, previous IPI senshi?" Nebula asked.

"Yes," Daichi said hoarsely. "It would seem." Her voice sounded haunted, or perhaps it was simply her illness.

"Do you think there are more?" Nebula asked. Daichi didn't respond. Her eyes were still cast upon the painting. "Daichi? What's wrong?"

"They..." She paused. "I know them."

"You do?" Nebula asked. She looked closer at the thee senshi. The one in Geb's uniform, presumably the leader, had golden hair in mountains of curls. She carried a staff, a circle with a cross in the center upon the top. The senshi was flanked by one with pink hair in pigtails and one with silver hair in two buns on either side and a trailing ponytail from each set. Nebula looked back at Daichi, who hadn't yet replied. Instead, she turned and moved onto the next painting. Nebula followed. She recognized the group in the next painting.

"Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn!" she exclaimed. Indeed, it seemed that at some point, the four senshi from one dimension or another had once occupied the asteroid. "I wonder if they were any of the ones we've met," Nebula said. She looked at Daichi, who had already moved onto the next painting. Nebula sighed and shook her head before following.

The next picture had Sailor Moon in the position of the leader, with an unknown golden-haired, violet-eyed senshi on her left and Sailor Mars on her right. They pair continued deeper down the dark hall, viewing paints of different sets of IPI senshi, mostly of trios but a few of four and more. Finally, they came to one that made them stop and stare for a long time.

"It's Mei and Hikari," Nebula finally said. In the painting were Mei and Hikari, along with a fierce-looking senshi with long red hair, a young white-haired senshi, an elegant blond-haired one in glasses... but no Daichi? "Where are you?" Nebula asked. In the spot which could only belong to Daichi was instead a woman with brown hair in a ponytail. She shared the leader uniform with the white-haired one.

"Clearly," Daichi said wearily, "I was not Sailor Daichi in that Dimension." Nebula was going to question this, but she instead heard a sound that sounded like shuffling, just beyond the glow of their candle light. Nebula extended her arm and saw a shadowy figure just at the edge of the light.

"Who has come?" the figure asked in a soft and young-yet-old voice. Nebula jumped a little. "You should not be here," the figure continued. "It is forbidden."

--

"This. Is. So. Boring." Tucana sighed, her arms crossed, as she walked alongside Kimi through the market street. The crowd was much thinner than it had been earlier.

"Honestly, must you complain so?" Kimi asked. "Perhaps we should have left you on the asteroid with poor Daichi and taken Nebula instead."

"Hey, I could say the same for you," Tucana said. "You are such a bore! At least with Nebula, my _partner_, I would have someone to talk to, in the very least!" She scoffed. "At least I can fight alongside her. How am I supposed to fight with you?"

"Ignoring the jab at my blindness," Kimi said, growing angry, "I would say any fighting out of you would be a nice change. We've yet to see you engage any opponents. At least with Nebula, she has an excuse. I fail to see your excuse."

"I depend on my partner," Tucana said. "My attack depends on someone protecting my body, and with her being untrained in hand-to-hand, she can no more protect my body than I can."

"Just what is your power?" Kimi asked. Tucana opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a sudden chorus of angry male voices.

Or, it seemed to come from her.

Tucana turned around to see a stampede of men coming down the market street. "Run!" Tucana shouted, grabbing Kimi's sleeve and pulling her hurriedly forward. She angled her run to a stall on the side, but they didn't make it as they were suddenly swallowed by the riot of men. Tucana lost her grip on Kimi as they were pulled apart. "Kimi!" she shouted. She was grabbed roughly by a man and shoved backward against the stream. As quickly as it had started, it was over, and Tucana was left to fall flat on her face in the street. There was a great commotion following the riot as a dozen or more female guards charged after them. Tucana didn't even bother getting up. She threw her arms over her head as the passed. They hadn't completely passed when a hard hand grabbed Tucana's arm and pulled her up on her feet.

"Are you all right?" a guard asked as the rest left. One other was with them, clearly the first guard's partner.

"I'm fine," Tucana said as she rubbed her arm, sore from the riot and now the guard.

"That is good," the second guard said. "Where is your partner?" Tucana gasped and looked around. Kimi was nowhere to be found.

"I- She- we got separated," she said. "She's gone!"

"I see..." Tucana looked back at the guards, who shared a worried look. "I'm afraid we must arrest you."

"What?!" Tucana shouted. "But I- I had no control over that!"

"We understand," the first guard said. "I'm afraid law still must be maintained, even under such circumstances. You must be arrested until overseen by a judge or until your partner is found and claims you."

"No, I-" Tucana shook her head and stepped back, then turned and bolted. The guards gave chase in surprise. Tucana charged down the slowly filling street, screaming for Kimi. "Kimi! Kimi, where are you?!" Her voice carried all down the street and into alleys. "Kimi! Ki- Oof!" Tucana suddenly met the ground, nearly blacking out at the force from being tackled by the two guards.

"You are under arrest," the second guard said as spectators gathered, "For occupying the market streets without partnership and for fleeing arrest." Heavy metal rings were clasped around Tucana's wrists behind her back. She was pulled up roughly.

"Kimi, hide!" she shouted. "Find help! Hide, Kimi!"

--

"This is so bad," Hikari whispered worriedly as she watched the guards pull Tucana down the street, kicking and screaming. "What's happened to Kimi?"

"I don't know," Tale said, beginning to chew nervously on a clump of her hair. "I don't know..."

"If Kimi is alone, she will surely be lost," Hikari said. "She can't just return to the asteroid, or she will strand us, but if she stays she will be lost and alone with no way of knowing where she is, much less where to go."

"We will have to rely on the others to find her," Geb whispered hurriedly. "We must focus-"

"You require assistance?" a voice asked. Hikari and Tale turned around to the vendors whose stall they had taken shelter at during the riot. "You seem distressed," the black-haired one said. Her hair was wavy and pulled up into a headpiece on the back of her head. She had a single strand of white hair on the right side of her head. Her partner vendor was the opposite, with white hair and a strand of black hair on the left of her head.

"Oh, uh, no," Tale said quickly. "We are well."

"We could help with your friends," the white-haired one said quietly. "Your lost friend, and your arrested friend. We could help." Hikari and Tale looked at each other as the two vendors motioned into the building behind them. "Please, let us help." Tale shrugged and she and Hikari followed the two women into the building.

--

"Hide!"

"This is so not good," Enapay said after she and Mei had witnessed Tucana's arrest from the landing of a second-story restaurant.

'Leave it to Tucana to be arrested,' Mei said.

"We must find Kimi," Enapay whispered as she hurried Mei down the stairs to the street. "She'll be completely lost, and if we don't find her first, the guards will!"

--

Kimi gasped as her knees weakened. She grasped the wall as she slid down to the ground, hidden away in the alley where she had been deposited by the riot. Tucana... what happened? Hide, find help? What had happened? Ixtab shook. She was alone, all by herself. She had never been alone. Even on her home planet, she always had one to five guards at all times, and at home she had her mother. But now... she was alone.

She sucked in her breath and pulled herself up she stepped from the wall and turned. She had no perception of where she was, or where to go. Everything sounded faint and foggy. She couldn't focus she was so panicked. Without any idea, she ran. She ran until she heard something even more frightening than being alone: Water. She couldn't stop herself in time, though. Just as the sound of running water hit her ears, so did the air from stepping off of land. She hit the water hard and was suddenly numb. She was completely lost now. She kicked and flailed, then she hit air. She gasped, yelled, then screamed as she felt herself slip below the water. She couldn't hold her breath and began to swallow. As she flailed, she could feel her hand hit air every now and again, until everything lost feeling and her mind went blank.

--

Tale gasped and grabbed her chest in pain. Hikari grabbed her quickly. "What is wrong?" the white-haired vendor asked from further down the underground corridor they had been taken to.

"Ixtab," Tale said. "Kimi, she's..." Tale couldn't finish. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it was bad, and it had to do with Kimi.

"Please come," the black-haired vendor said. She motioned forward and Hikari pulled Tale along, pulling her upright as they went. They were led to a dim, barely-lit room, and in an instant the two vendors were gone.

"Where-?"

"Who are you?" a harsh voice suddenly asked. In place of the two vendors appeared two senshi in uniforms of similar design, but different coloration. One had white hair, the other black, and both had a single strand of hair of opposite coloring.

"Who are you?" one asked again. "Why have you come to our planet, and who is the masked man?"


	8. Chapter 7: Reunion

**Episode 7: **

"Why have you come to our planet? Who is the masked man?"

Tale and Inkou stepped back, looking at each other in surprise. They had been found out, but how? Who were these senshi? Tale clenched her fist, knowing she had to take back control. She was the leader of the Interdimensional Police Investigators. She had to take back control, and now was the time to start.

"I assume you mean the Collector," Tale said. "A man in a mask wearing a coat with a matching hat?" The two senshi looked at each other, confirming Tale's suspicion.

"But how do you know?" Hikari said. "About the Collector, and of us?"

"You associated yourselves with the young woman arrested in the streets," the white-haired senshi said. "Also, you are clearly unlearned in our ways."

"This masked man has allied himself with the masculine resistance," the other senshi said. "He is a threat."

"More than you realize," Tale said. "He isn't here for a revolution. He is on a mission to collect the treasures of senshi in the different dimensions of our universe. He has come here for the treasures of this planet's senshi."

"There is only one item of significance associated with we senshi," the black-haired one said. "Sailor Zhuancha's Eiso Beads."

"In that case," Tale said, "This Sailor Zhuancha is in danger."

--

"Shrmn... Jurrrr..."

Foggy. That's all Kimi heard. Foggy voices. Was she dead? She couldn't tell. There was no bright light, but then again, perhaps she would be blind in death to.

Wait, she could feel her toes. They were strangely warm. She could feel her legs now. They were warm too, in a tingling sort of way. If felt good. It was better than the water.

Wait, the water... She had fallen into water. Perhaps she really had died.

Or, perhaps she was saved.

Her belly was warm now, as was her chest. She could feel her arms, and her hands. She moved a little, and when she was sure of her strength she slowly pushed herself up. It was hard. She felt heavy, and she discovered why. Something heavy and warm rolled off of her chest and arms, and suddenly she felt chilled. As she tried to keep herself steady, she could hear scrapping, like that of something heavy on stone. There was faint clicking and soft steps.

"Are you all right?" a voice asked. It sounded elegant, yet it was hard, like a warrior speaking through a lady's voice.

"Where... am I?" Ixtab asked.

'You are safe.' Ixtab lifted her head as Mei's voice settled comfortably in her mind. 'We are with senshi.'

--

"This place is forbidden, you may not be here," the soft, ghostly voice said. "Who are you and why have you come to this sacred place?" Nebula glanced over at Daichi, who stared indifferently at the shadowed figure.

"We're-"

"Wait." Nebula stopped as soft shuffling was heard. The figure stepped into the light. It was a young woman, with violet hair and dark eyes. Just barely visible in the candlelight was a golden circle upon her forehead. Her face was still and hard, yet it glowed with a soft light. She smiled, instantly turning the hardness to pleasantness. "I apologize. I welcome you back, Sailor Nebula and Master Kurzai."

The woman had no sooner finished speaking when Daichi swooned and fainted. Nebula caught her, though sacrificing the candle and light. "He is ill?" the woman's voice spoke, seeming to be closer.

"Yes, I mean no, no," Nebula said quickly. "She, SHE, is ill.

"No matter," the woman said. A soft glow appeared, emanating from a golden circle attached to a white bow upon the woman's chest. "I shall help nonetheless."

--

The air was chilled in the market streets, a considerable change from the warm air of the day. Most were indoors, keeping warm, but there were some occupants of the streets at the late hour. Sailor Geb stayed close to the vendor stall of the two senshi she and Hikari had met previously. The black-haired one, Sailor Chai, had gone with Hikari to collect their missing comrades, as well as the other senshi of the planet. This left Geb with the white-haired Sailor Pekoe, who seemed more alive now in the darkness than she had in the daylight. Despite this, she sat still and quiet at the stall as Geb paced.

"This is a waste of time," she complained. "We need to be getting Tucana out of prison and finding the Collector."

"Patience," Pekoe said. "Patience is key. Do not let your fears drive you to the wrong choices."

"My fears? Just what do you know about my fears?" Geb stopped and looked at the senshi, who looked over her shoulder and back at her.

"I am the senshi of fear," Pekoe said. "I can sense someone's fear without meaning to. It is my way." Geb shook her head and began pacing again. Pekoe smiled and turned back around, closing her eyes. She could sense someone nearby, someone with a great amount of fear.

--

"I thank you for saving my life," Ixtab said, still clutching the warm blankets. She was sitting at a table with Enapay and Mei, as well as the young women that had pulled her from the waters of the river surrounding the city. One was dark of skin with pink hair that was knotted at the base of her neck. Her name was Oolong. The other, who was of more interest to Ixtab and the others, was fair of skin with teal hair tied up in a pair of buns covered in fabric, with two strings hanging from each bun that had two beads attached to each string. What are important was that this woman was Sailor Zhuancha, and her beads were the only weapon on the entire planet.

"It was really no problem," Oolong said, her voice sweet and petite. "As senshi, it is our duty to protect and save."

"As is ours," Enapay said. "Back to you, Zhuancha, you are sure your Eiso Beads are the only weapon of the senshi?"

"Positive," Zhuancha said as she returned to the table with cups of warm tea. "T'was my blessing and curse to bear their weight."

'What are they capable of?' Mei asked as Zhuancha sat down. 'I know not to underestimate the power of small things, but I am curious as to why they are both a blessing and a curse.'

"I am the senshi of demons," Zhuancha explained. "As such, I am burdened with the Eiso Beads. In the ancient language, 'Eiso' meant 'underworld,' where the demons of the black hearted were laid to rest. These small beads each hold the power of the ancient 8 demons of the underworld, one bead for one demon."

"Then they must be incredibly powerful," Ixtab said.

"Very," Oolong said. "Their nature shows the true character of Zhuancha."

"How so?" Enapay asked.

"It is a great power she has at her command," Oolong said. "She was the last to be christened into senshi-hood because she had to undergo rigorous training to be able to control the beads. In the wrong hands, these beads are disastrous."

"Any hand but mine is the wrong hand," Zhuancha added. "I was born for this. Since childhood I was trained and groomed. Alas, these beads are my life. I cannot allow this Collector to obtain them."

--

Daichi slept restlessly in the next room over from where Nebula was with the strange young woman. The woman was mixing together a potion she claimed would cure Daichi of her fever, like it had before. This only added to Nebula's confusion. Questions kept racing through her head, until finally she burst. "Who are you? Why are you here? How do you Daichi and me, and why do you keep mistaking her for a male?"

The woman smiled. Still stirring the watery misture in the bowl, she looke dup at Nebula. "Is it not obvious?" she asked. "You glimpsed the paintings of previous IPI senshi. Have you not concluded that you and Master Kurzai were once IPI's as well?" Nebula was surprised, but on some level it made sense. "You are surprised," the woman said. "Perhaps it was not so obvious as I imagined." She reached for an open jar of powered and shook some into the mixture. "I am Sailor Asterel, though it would be best to call me Seresha, as I lost my true senshi-hood ages ago. I am the guardian of the Interdimensional Satellite, as well as the caretaker of this place and its occupants."

Seresha picked up a mortar of brilliant green stone and tossed in dry, crinkled leaves of all shapes and colored. She then took a stone pestle of same coloring and began crushing them. "As for Master Kurzai," she then said, adding a small amount of the previous mixture to the leave, "He was once the leader of the IPI senshi hailing from the Dohidesai Dimension with his senshi, Tucana and Nebula." She began crushing again. "Of course I know you are not the same as them. Sailor Mercurius picked you up in the Dohinotenka Dimension, close in design to your own, but different nonetheless. Sailor Daichi comes from the Talnotenka Dimension.

"But this Kurzai you speak of," Nebula said. "Clearly Kurzai is not the same as Daichi. Kurzai is male, Daichi is female."

Seresha poured the paste into the watery mixture and began mixing them together. "I don't know how," she said, "But Master Kurzai and Sailor Daichi are one in the same." She picked up a very small, shallow dish and looked up at Nebula's confused face. "Remember," Seresha added, "Every dimension is different in its own right, each with a different cosmic path to follow. How one develops will be different than another, like the Dohidesai and Dohinotenka dimensions." With both bowls, Seresha left the room and moved into Daichi's. She set the big one on the table and dipped the shallow one into the mixture. She then placed a hand behind Daichi's head and inclined it slightly. "Miss, I bing medicine." She pressed the bowl to Daichi's lips. Daichi stirred awake slightly, enough to accept a small amount of the mixture. She coughed after a little bit, though, and slipped back into her nightmares. Seresha set the bowl on the table and looked at Nebula. "More must be given," she said. "Please administer more as you feel she can take. I must tend to my other duties." Nebula nodded and pulled up a chair as Seresha left. Nebula shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around it all.

--

"You call this a jail?" Tucana said loudly. "I've been in worst. Sure, the food's lousy and the whole place smells, but come on! You've got fancy bedding! What kind of jail has that?"

"I've always wondered about the bedding," a voice said. It was a man's, like all the other occupants of the place. "It's rare to have a woman in here. What are you in for?"

"I was separated from my companion in the riot," Tucana said as she leaned her back on the bas, pulling at her braided tresses.

"Ah, then I apologize," the man said. "I was a part of that riot, though I still fail to see its purpose. Our leader ordered it, but there was no reasoning." He then laughed. "Another damned plan of the masked man."

"Masked man?" Tucana repeated, turning to face the bars. "What masked man?"

"Our leader's new ally," the man explained. "He wears a mask and long coat." Tucana recognized the description, but she wanted more.

"Well, who is he?" she asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," the man replied. "I've only heard Sailor Tae call him 'friend,' so I'm not sure."

"This resistance is being led by a senshi?" she asked. "Why?"

"Sailor Tae is a rouge," the man explained. "She used to be the leader of the senshi, but she was without a partner and came to despise the other senshi, so she left and began helping the male resistance."

"I see," Tucana said. She stayed silent for a few moments before she heard a growing echo of a commotion. "I wonder what's going on," she said lowly.

"It is our comrades," the man replied. "They've come to free the jailed. It was part of our plan." Very quickly, a storm of men came down into the jailing area and began unlocking or breaking the locks off the doors. None came to Tucana's aid until most were gone, when a surprisingly well-groomed man arrived at her door with a metal pole. "I never leave anyone behind," he said. She recognized his voice, despite the lack of distant echoing. "You can come with us as well." Tucana stepped back as the man stabbed the lock with the pole. The lock shattered and the door creaked open. Tucana went to the door and the man took her hand. "Come!" He pulled her away, and Tucana went willingly in hopes of finding the "masked man."

--

"What about Geb and Pekoe?!" Hikari shouted as she ran after Chai as quickly as she could. Zhuancha was running alongside her, having quickly caught up. Anog Ite, Mei, Ixtab, and Oolong were trailing behind them.

"They will respond when necessary!" Chai said. "Pekoe knows what will be needed when it is needed!"

'Stop!' Anog Ite, Ixtab, and Hikari stopped instantly. It took the Tae senshi a moment to realize they had stopped.

"What is it?" Chai asked. Then she smelled it, and then she tasted it. She others didn't know what it was, but she knew all too well. "Tae!" Chai covered her nose and mouth and looked for the origin of the invisible poison. She found it, but too late as the green-haired Sailor Tae nailed her with a flying kick. Chai flew limply, landing with a thud. Oolong took charge.

"Chun Hui!" She threw her hands forward and sent a violently pulsing wave of pink and gold light at Sailor Tae. The senshi was thrown backward as a riot of men stampeded through. They paid the senshi no mind. When they were gone, so was Tae. "Chai!" Oolong ran to Chai's side as the dark-haired senshi pushed herself up, coughing enough to vomit.

"What was that?" Hikari asked, waving her hand in front of her face. "That smell..."

"Sailor Tae is the senshi of poison," Oolong explained. She held onto Chai's arm and looked at the other senshi. Her dark face instantly went flat. "Where's Zhuancha?"

--

"Pekoe!" Geb shouted fruitlessly as Sailor Pekoe was thrown back into the wall by the fire of Kaki's sword. The Collector was both graceful and deadly with the brilliant golden sword. Pekoe fell the the ground, cringing in blinding pain. Geb turned back to the Collector in time to see a jet of fire coming at her. Instead of hitting her, however, it struck the ground in front of her. The force of the hit blasted Geb backward into the building. She panicked as she lost her grip on her staff while skidding to a halt on her bottom. She fell to her side, but immediately pushed herself back up. The Collector stood proudly just inside of the room, framed by the doorway, and proudly holding Geb's staff in one hand and Kaki's sword in the other. To Geb's surprise, she could see the small end of Nebula's mace poking over his shoulder, clearly attached to his back somehow.

"I'm glad to see you again," the Collector said. "I've been looking forward to this since my rather abrupt departure last time."

"Is that a fact?" Geb said, standing up. "I wonder why that is." The Collector just smirked in a way that made Geb most uncomfortable. He began approaching her in a similar way. Geb uncomfortably stepped back until her back was to the wall. He kept approaching. Kaki's sword disappeared from sight and the Collector stopped just in front of Geb. He put his free hand to the wall right next to her head.

"You are intoxicating," he said huskily. "The more you hate me, the more angry you are, the more intoxicating you are." He let his face drift closer as he spoke with a lowering voice. "When I'm away, you are all I think about. My master... worries, that this will distract me from my mission. But... I do not worry." Geb gasped as she felt the Collector's gloved hand touch her check, gently brushing it. He was so close that his nose brushed gently against hers. He breathed in deeply, and then sighed. Geb could smell his breath. It was sweet, and strangely intoxicating. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to quit this mission, to share a life with you forever..." His eyes closed as he leaned closer. Geb could feel his lips close in, but suddenly he snapped back in pain.

He yelled, dropping Geb's staff and stumbling backward. His back arched as he yelled in pain to the ceiling. Then he quieted, dropping to his knees and holding his arms as he rocked himself to the ground. Geb was panting as she watched. She then shot her eyes up, where a badly charred Sailor Pekoe stood. She had her right hand up, palm to the ceiling, her hair and uniform flared out. As she lowered her hand to her side, her hair and uniform lowered as well until all was as it should be. "Are you all right?" Pekoe asked, a misty expression upon her face. She looked as though see where seeing Geb for the first time.

"Yes, yes," Geb said, catching her breath. She bent down and swooped up her staff as the sound of the riot drew near. "I'm fine. What did you do?" Pekoe gave her a strange look that Geb couldn't quite size up, then she smiled.

"I used his greatest fear against him," she said simply. The she suddenly looked over her shoulder, then her face scrunched up. "Take a deep breath, then don't breath in."

"Why-"

"An old friend has come to cause trouble," she said. "Stay with the man. I will deal with her." Geb wanted to object. She didn't want to stay, much less now because she didn't know how Pekoe's powers would affect him.

Pekoe disappeared outside. Geb stood still, clutching her staff with absolutely no idea what to do. Soon, her lungs began to hurt. She let out small breaths, alleviating the pain, but soon she was without breath. She gasped, breathing normally again. She couldn't understand what Pekoe had been worried about, but she soon didn't care after what she heard next.

"Please... Please...Not her... Not Tale..."

TALE?! Geb's eyes grew wide as she watched the whimpering Collector. His face was hidden, he was so curled up. He rocked slowly.

"Don't please... I beg, I beg... Hurt me... Please, spare her... Please..."

Geb stepped toward the Collector. She couldn't believe her ears. He knew her name? Was he... begging for her, to protect her? She couldn't understand, but she couldn't help but pity him. Power over fear, it seemed like a horrid and devastating power, perhaps even cruel.

She knelt beside him, reaching back to put her staff on her back. She then flexed her hands before tentatively reaching to him. She took his shoulder, and immediately he jerked upright, gasping and... crying?

He blinked, looking around, clearly distraught. Then his gaze touched Geb. She instantly stiffened. His eyes widened, then he smiled, and then he laughed in an unbelieving way. "You're... You're..." He lifted a hand and reached for her. She instantly scooted back. His hand stopped and his face fell. "No, I..." The look of horrid realization hit. "I- I- I'm sorry... I wasn't myself..." He looked away, then looked back at her. "That wasn't me. I..." He grabbed his face. "I can't do this, I can't... Gods, how did I get myself into this?"

"What do you mean?" Geb asked, curiosity abound. He looked back up at her.

"I haven't been myself," he said. "Not since... Not since I took the job..." He shook his head. He was clearly shaking now. "I never..." He suddenly snapped his head up at her, fear and regret evident. He then jumped up. Ripping Nebula's mace from his back, he turned and fled, dropping the mace before reaching the door. Geb jumped up and followed, grabbing the mace with one swift motion. She gasped at the sight that beheld her.

Pekoe was unconscious on the ground, her face a sickly shade of green and her chest barely moving. Zhuancha's neck was in Tae's grasp, the Eiso beads hanging from her other hand. "All right Friend," Tae said, taking no notice of Geb. "Here are the Eiso beads. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain. Where is the mace?" The Collector was speechless. He stood with a stupid expression on his face, clearly not knowing what to make of the situation. Tae's eyebrow lifted and she finally took notice of Geb, who was holding the mace. "That is MY mace!" she shouted angrily. She threw Zhuancha to the side as she approached Geb. She lifted a hand, and almost instantly Geb could feel the inside of her mouth and lungs burning. She gasped and shut her mouth, clutching her throat in pain. "Give me my mace!" The Collector's gaze followed Tae, and when he realized what was happening, his face contorted into anger.

"You shall not harm her!" he shouted. He lunged at Tae and tackled her. The invisible poison ceased and Geb gasped. Then, she heard a grunt and a heavy thud. She looked up to see the Collector on his side, facing away and laying still a short distance away. Tae stood and lifted her hand again, continuing her assault on Geb's lungs. She gasped as tears came to her eyes. She kept a first grip on Nebula's staff as Tae approached. However, she was stopped once again as she was suddenly lifted by a great light that emanated from behind her. Tae lifted high, and then flew to the right, hitting the wall with a crack as the calvary arrived. Guards and senshi alike gathered in time to see Tae hit the ground.

"Geb!" Ango Ite shouted. Geb lifted a hand as she tried to get her breath again. Serasha was by her side, taking her shoulders as the other senshi approached the Collector. He shakily pushed himself up, twisting at his waist and looking at the approaching senshi.

"No," Geb said, her voice no more than a hoarse whisper. Seresha looked upon her. "No, don't hurt him." She panted from the effort of trying to help.

"Don't harm him!" Seresha yelled, causing the senshi to stop suddenly. "Sailor Geb says to not harm him." The senshi were understandably surprised, as was the Collector.

"Wha-" Ixtab's words were cut short as she found herself gasping. Or at least, she tried. She felt like she was suffocating, like the air was closing in. The others felt the same. Thing became fuzzy as they all lowered to the ground. The Collector came in and out of focus as someone spoke in a fuzzy voice.

"You are more trouble than you are worth, Sebastian." A small figure appeared behind the Collector, then they were gone, and everything went black.

--

"Hey, wake up... Hikari!" Hikari jerked and gasped, her eyes flying open to see Tucana staring down at her. Hikari was panting, feeling like she had never before breathed. She looked left and right, seeing men all over, helping the fallen senshi and guards and binding Sailor Tae. Hikari groaned as Tucana helped her sit up.

"What happened?" she asked. "How did you get out?"

"I could ask the same about you," Tucana said. "The riot from earlier came and broke out everyone in the jail. One of the prisoners pitied me and got me out too. We showed up and you were all like this." She looked at the others. "I'm assuming the Collector didn't win, seeing as how everyone still has their weapons... and, is that Nebula's mace?" Hikari looked at Geb and was saw her holding the unfamiliar object.

"The Collector got away," Hikari said. "Someone helped him. We would have had him but..." She closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Geb, she told us not to harm him. Then someone, or something, attacked us. I couldn't breathe, like someone was squeezing my lungs from inside my chest."

'The feeling was mutual,' Mei said. Hikari looked at her partner, who barely looked worn. She then looked over at Pekoe. She seemed to already be recovering. Likewise, so did Geb, who was being aided by the unknown purple-haired woman.

"No!" Hikari winced at the sudden blood-curdling scream. She cringed, then looked to see what had happened. She found Sailor Zhuancha beating her fists on the ground, Sailor Oolong holding her shoulders. "Not the beads!" Zhuancha screamed. "Not the beads! No!"

--

"I don't get it," Ixtab said. "Why? Why did you have us stop? We could have had the Collector." Geb shook her head as Anog Ite tried to apply a pasty mixture to the back of her neck, something the woman named Seresha mixed up to ease the pain.

"Hold still," Anog Ite said gently. "Whatever the reason, I'm sure Geb had a good reason."

"And what is that?" Ixtab asked. "And why are you being so... motherly all of the sudden?" Anog Ite ignored her as she finished with the paste. She set it down and picked up the bandage to wrap Geb's neck in.

"There's something not right," Geb said hoarsely. "The Collector... Sebastian? I don't know. I don't think he's as evil as we thought. I think this master of his has something to do with it."

"It doesn't matter," Ixtab said. "He's the enemy and he must be stopped." Geb sighed. She couldn't explain it. They weren't there. They hadn't heard what he had said in that vulnerable, weak stage, and she didn't want to repeat it. She couldn't understand it, and until she could, it was her secret alone.

"How are you doing in there?" Geb looked up to see Daichi standing in the doorway. She leaned on the frame, but she didn't seem weak. She seemed stronger than she had been in a while.

"You're better?" Geb asked. Daichi nodded.

"Seresha knows her stuff," she said. "Whatever she mixed up for you I'm sure will do wonders in no time."

"How is everyone?" Geb asked. She then received a pat to her head.

"Stop talking so much," Anog Ite said gently. Daichi smiled.

"Nebula's ecstatic, obviously," she reported. "Mei and Hikari are making some dinner before we leave, Seresha is on the surface helping with Pekoe's injuries, and Tucana's already off to the wrong foot with what's-her-name."

"Zhuancha," the three IPI senshi said together.

"Yeah, her," Daichi said. "Are you sure she's coming along?"

"She won't rest until those beads are back in her possession," Ixtab said.

"And we won't either," Anog Ite added. "Those beads are dangerous in anyone's hands but hers."

"And what of her partner?" Geb asked. There was silence.

"Oolong..." Daichi paused. "I'm not sure."

--

"Good luck," Oolong said to Zhuancha. The two were out of the surface, looking at their beautiful planet, proud to be the first of their people to see its beauty. "I'm needed here. There's a crowd already, and I'd only slow you down anyway."

"Oolong," Zhuancha said in a warning tone.

"I'm serious," Oolong said. " With Pekoe out of commission, Tae locked up, and you leaving, Chai needs me more than you do." She smiled. "You've taken care of me all these years. You've practically held my hand the whole way. I think it's time for me to step out of my own. You've taught me much, my friend. It is time I put it to good use." Zhuancha smiled at her dearest friend. She reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, which Oolong returned. "Take care of yourself," she said.

"Hey!" She pulled back. "I'm supposed to tell you that!" Oolong shook her head.

"No," she whispered. "I know what awaits me on the planet, but you... You're going into the great unknown it an entirely different dimension and world, with total strangers after a villain like none we've ever faced." She smiled. "No, I need to say it to you." She looked over her shoulder as Seresha approached. "Time to go," Oolong said. Seresha stepped up next to her, nodded, then they were gone.


	9. Chapter 8: New Ally, Old World?

The asteroid orbited comfortably above the familiar marble the senshi knew to be Earth. Yet despite this comfort, trouble brewed within. "Just what makes you such an expert on this planet?" Zhuancha shouted at Tucana.

"Oh, I don't know," Tucana said sarcastically, "Maybe it's because I've been here twice before?!" Tucana's statement ended in a shout, as many had since the beginning of the argument. For some reason the others couldn't understand, the two had begun arguing over how to handle things on the surface of the planet.

"That doesn't make you an expert!" Zhuancha quickly retorted.

"Please, please!" Geb interrupted. "As leader, I will decide how to go about this!"

"Oh, yeah," Nebula grumbled, "We've all seen how well that has gone." This earned a nudge to her rib from Daichi.

"Geb may not be perfect, but she is still the IPI leader," she said.

'But she isn't our leader,' Mei pointed out.

"This is our mission and you'll listen to her!" Ixtab yelled. By now, the senshi were in a cluster, arguing between one another.

"Please, must we argue?" Hikari asked. Her question was lost among deaf ears.

On the other side of the room stood Anog Ite and Seresha, watching the arguments with disdain. "Why do they feel the need to argue?" Seresha asked to no one in particular.

"Each feels, considering what each has thus gone through," Anog Ite began, "That she knows what is the best course of action when in reality, they must work together." She shook her head. "Arguing accomplishes nothing."

"Yes," Seresha said with a nod, "That is very true, Anog Ite."

"Oh, please," Anog Ite said, smiling. "Call me Hotah." Seresha nodded, then shook her head as though feeling she had heard something wrong.

"But, I thought your name was Enapay."

Anog Ite laughed. "Oh, no, no, no," she said. "You must have me confused with someone else." She tilted her head, then smiled again and approached the group. Instantly everything became silent, but not because they were done arguing. They found that their voices were gone.

'Anog Ite, what do you think you are doing?' Mei asked, the only one able to.

"Please, could we agree to disagree?" Anog Ite asked. "This mission belongs to Geb, Ixtab, and myself. It should be the three of us who agree on a course of action." She lifted her hand, bringing back the sound. There was a pause, as everyone looked at each other. Then, the silence was broken.

"I know what to do," Ixtab said. The room around them spun, and then they found themselves surrounded by trees. Anog Ite looked around. Everyone was there, except for Seresha. "If everyone thinks they know best, then let them go their own way."

"Sounds good to me!" Zhuancha shouted. She spun on her heel and stomped off. Daichi shook her head with a sigh.

"She'll get herself in trouble," she said as she followed. Tucana stormed off in the opposite direction with Nebula following unwillingly behind.

"Ugh!" Geb groaned. She threw her head back and swung her arms out. "Fine!" she shouted. She then turned and stormed off.

"I guess I'll stay with you," Ixtab mumbled to Anog Ite.

"I suppose..." Anog Ite sighed worriedly.

--

The clack of Zhuancha's boots echoed loudly in the empty street as she stormed through the unfamiliar area. She grumbled angrily to herself, muttering non-cohesive sentences and expressions even she wouldn't be able to understand.

"Zhuancha, hold up!" The angry senshi stopped in surprise and turned around. Sailor Daichi was following after her.

"What do you want?" she shouted, more angrily than she would have liked.

"No one should go off alone," Daichi said as she approached, "Least of all you. You have never been to this planet. You could unintentionally cause some serious trouble." Zhuancha looked away, trying to stay upset, but she gave up with a sigh.

"I know... I want to get the Eiso Beads back! I'm just so frustrated... With total strangers..." She sighed again. "Oolong was right. She does have it easier..." Daichi sighed softly and extended her hand, placing it on Zhuancha's shoulder.

"Stranger or not, you can count on us," she said. "I promise, we will get the Eiso Beads back."

--

Geb groaned and looked back to the water far below. She wondered if he had meant this bridge, or if there was another nearby. "What am I doing here?" she quietly asked herself. "Why did I take up his invitation?" She closed her eyes. "What about him makes me..." She sighed.

"Makes you what?" Geb gasped and spun around. Standing in the middle of the road was a small person, like a child, except there was something... off. "Well, aren't you going to answer me, Sailor Geb?" the person asked, their voice sounding too old for their body. Geb took a defensive stance.

"Who are you?" she asked. "I demand to know!"

"Oh you do, do you?" the person asked. She shifted, letting Geb see more of what she looked like. "Sorry, but the only demands I take are those given by my lady." Then, the small person gave a wicked, almost crazy-looking smile. "But, introductions must be made!" She struck a pose, standing on one leg while pulling the other up and extending her arms. "I am Collector Komoka, Sailor Aether!" She winked, and then a long brown whip appeared in one of her hands. Geb gasped.

"Daichi's Ibarakei!" she shouted.

"Wrong!" Aether yelled. "It is MINE!" She threw her hand forward, the thorn whip following to strike. Geb leapt to the side. "I do believe I should apologize," Aether said as she walked toward Geb. "Sebastian was unable to make it."

"Seba-" Geb's eyes grew. Of course, this person was talking about the Collector. Someone on Tae had called him that, and that someone... "It was you!" she said. "You took the Collector from Tae!"

"Very good," Aether said. "You aren't so daft after all. Yes, I took Collector Sebastian away. He had failed, gaining one item with the lose of another. Pathetic, really. I wouldn't be surprised if my lady has done away with the wretch by now." Geb suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "Well, enough small talk, AWAY WITH YOU!" Aether reeled her arm back and struck the whip forward. It didn't go far, however. It was caught up in a horizontal, twirling column of watery light that sucked up the whip and pulled it out of Aether's hands. "No!" she screamed.

Geb turned to see the source of the attack. Coming up behind her was a girl in a green mask with long pink hair. Into one of her hands floated Daichi's whip. Nestled into the other was a mirror-like object, two fish following each other around a blue sphere. Geb turned back to Aether as she let out a screeching howl. "I'll get you for this!" She then threw her hand up and vanished.

Geb stood still for a moment as the pink-haired senshi came into the corner of her eye. "Wow, she wasn't pleasant," the senshi said nonchalantly. Geb turned her head as she mirrored the move. "So... who are you?" Geb blinked, and then smiled. She didn't know what, but she liked this girl.

--

"No, please, no more!" the masked thief cried. He covered his head as his partner fell to his side, cringing just the same.

"Well then, I think we've taught you a lesson," Zhuancha said as she clapped the dust from her hands. Daichi was silent as she used a conjured vine to tie the thieves together. "I must say, that certainly was refreshing."

"Got your mind off of everything else, eh?" Daichi said with a grin. Zhuancha nodded. "Well, we'll just leave these two here."

"At the scene of the crime?" Zhuancha asked, looking to the damaged building that had housed beautiful jewelry. "Good idea." She gave an approving nod, and then motioned for Daichi to lead the way. Daichi grinned again and turned to head to the street, but stopped. "Daichi? What's wrong?" Zhuancha looked, and could see that they had an audience of two.

"Uranus and Neptune," she muttered. It was their civilian forms, anyway, and in that yellow abomination Daichi had come to loath.

"Who?" Zhuancha asked. Daichi shook her head and pulled her to the side. She hoped they wouldn't follow, but that hope popped like a bubble when she heard a pair of surprised gasps combined with a creaking crunch.

Daichi and Zhuancha spun around to see two unfamiliar senshi atop the front of Haruka's car. "Daichi are they-" Zhuancha's question was answered when the two women dove out of the car, followed by a grand tornado that tore the car apart. The senshi jumped away and Uranus and Neptune transformed.

Daichi took the initiative to crouch down and strike her hand on the ground. "Earth Tremble!" she shouted. Her shout took the attention of the attacking senshi, distracting them until the last moment before the running crack on the ground opening up beneath them to swallow them whole. The two senshi disappeared before the crack closed on them, their angry yells left on the still night air.

"We will destroy the princesses of Uranus and Neptune!"

--

"Twilight Sun!"

'Twilight Moon!' A sun and a moon drawn with the Twilight Daggers of Mei and Hikari shot forward. Their target, a psychotic gray-haired senshi, easily moved out of the way just as the images lined up.

"She's too fast!" Hikari said.

'Hikari, stay behind me!' Mei warned. 'You are her target!'

"But why?" Hikari asked. "Why is she after me?"

"My princess, I am hurt!" the senshi yelled. "Surely, Sailor Venus, you recognize you _loyal_ guardian, Sailor Magellanus!"

"Venus?" Hikari looked at Mei.

'She has you mistaken for the other blond!' Mei said. 'She means to-'

"Blind Romanticide!" Magellanus' attack drowned out Mei's voice as Hikari was distracted by the spear-like pieces of light coming at her. Neither she nor Mei, nor the approaching senshi, could react quickly enough as the spears shredded past, around, and even through Hikari. Mei forgot to breath as she watched her companion fly back, landing limp like a doll.

Mei had no intention of fighting back as she ran for Hikari. Instead, Sailor Venus took her place. "Venus! Love Me Chain!" The golden chain of hearts flew at Magellanus, but the senshi dodged them.

"Oh, my mistake," she said nonchalantly. "I guess I hit the wrong one."

"You'll pay dearly for it!" Ixtab yelled as she charged ahead. She couldn't see the damage, but the feeling of the blood in the air... it was too much. "Death's Grasp!" She extended her arm, her black noose flying at Magellanus knowingly. It enlarged and slipped over her head, tightening around her neck.

"Ixtab, no!" Anog Ite shouted. "Don't!" She grabbed two quills from her sash and threw them at the noose. Then went to either side of the knot, just barely grazing it and slitting a few threads, causing its power to wane. The noose loosened and Magellanus slid out of it. She grabbed her neck fearfully before disappearing. Ixtab stood ridged, dumbfounded.

"What... did... you do!?" Ixtab turned to Anog Ite, her lifeless white glass eyes staring right at the wild-looking senshi she couldn't even see.

"It was wrong, Ixtab," Anog Ite said as she swiftly moved to Hikari. "To take another's life in revenge is wrong." She knelt beside Hikari and felt her pulse. "Hikari will live. She needs help. Take her to Seresha, whom you so neglected to bring, immediately." She looked over to Ixtab. "Hurry!" Ixtab didn't respond as she went to Hikari's side, Anog Ite moving out of the way.

'Take me as well,' Mei said. Ixtab nodded, and the three vanished.

"What is going on here?" Anog Ite turned to Venus and Artemis. "Who are you?" the cat asked.

Anog Ite smiled. "I am Sailor Anog Ite of the Interdimensional Police Investigators, or IPI for short," she said. "But, you may call me Hotah."

--

"Ah, so this place again," Tucana said. "What was it called? A temple?"

"I think so," Nebula said quietly. Tucana glanced at her and sighed.

"Hey, about earlier..."

"I don't want to talk about it," Nebula said. "You know I hate arguing and fighting, especially when you're the hot-head involved!" Nebula stopped and stepped in front of Tucana, facing her. "Have you so easily forgotten what's happened in the past? We don't need any repeats here on this mission!" She then turned and kept walking. "It's bad enough all the flack you'll have to face when we go home!"

"Look, I don't need a lecture from you," Tucana said as she followed. "That lecture from Geb was more than enough!"

"Geb?" Nebula and Tucana stopped dead in their tracks. Into the moonlight stepped the masked collector. The two senshi were instantly on guard. "Where... Where is Geb?" he asked, looking at them. "I sent for her..."

"Why would you send for Geb?" Tucana asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Nebula shouted. "Whatever it is, you can't have anything to do with her."

"Agreed," Tucana said. "You'll pay for everything you've done!" The two senshi charged at the Collector. He didn't move until just before Nebula could smack him in the head with her mace. He leapt back.

"I don't mean any harm!" he shouted. "I just want to see Geb!" He groaned exasperatedly before holding up Hikari's staff and vanishing.

Tucana growled and stomped. "What's his deal?" she asked. "What's he want Geb for?"

"Hey you!" The two turned to a now-open door of the temple where stood Sailor Mars. "What do you think you are doing?"

Tucana scoffed. "Hey, listen, we're good senshi, we just stumbled across a bad guy, give us a break," she said. Nothing more could be said before Ixtab appeared in between Nebula and Tucana, causing them to comically jump to either side.

"Nebula, Tucana, there's been an incident," she said. "Hikari's been severely wounded by one of this Earth's senshi's enemies. I just dropped her and Mei off with Seresha."

"Wounded?" Nebula asked. "How bad?"

"Bad," Ixtab replied. "Real bad."

"What is going on here?" Mars asked.

"Rei, stand down!" Luna shouted as she hurried toward them. Behind her was Ami, Makoto, and a very sleepy Usagi. "These are friendly senshi. Minako's called an emergency meeting."

--

"I have to say, it all sounds very exciting!"

"Yeah, I suppose," Tale sighed as she nestled her chin into her pillow. She turned her head to the bed. Beneath it, she could see her host's feet moving around as she changed. Then her feet disappeared as she hopped onto her bed.

"I mean it!" she said, brushing her short brown locks from her face as she looked down at Tale.

"Ne, Karen, it really isn't," Tale said as she rolled over to look up at the girl. She looked much different when she wasn't a senshi. It had greatly surprised her when the senshi, Sailor New V, had changed into the girl, Karen Thomas. Tale had gotten used to senshi appearances mirroring non-senshi appearances.

"You're still worried about Sebastian, aren't you?" Karen asked. Tale blushed and turned on her side, facing away from Karen. "It's okay to be worried about him. By the sounds of it, he's seen the errors of his ways and has decided to change his ways by helping the love of his life."

"LOVE?!" Tale shot up and looked to Karen. "I never said anything about love!"

"You didn't have to," Karen said. "Just listening to what you've said, I've added it up." She then winked. "Don't tell me you haven't added it all up." Tale's blush grew and she looked down.

"I wouldn't know anything about that," she said. "I've never known anything of love." With that, she grabbed her covers and laid down, cocooning herself.

"Well, no matter," Karen said. "You'll learn. In the meantime, we need to get our beauty sleep for the dance." Tale's eyes shot open.

"Dance?"

--

Morning light cut through Minako's curtains and cast themselves on her table as she ate her noisy, crunchy cereal. She was still digesting everything she'd learned the previous night from the mysterious IPI senshi and of their mission and such.

"Oh, blasted mess..." Minako looked over her shoulder as her house guest, the one named Sailor Anog Ite, came down the hall, fussing with her incredibly messy hair. Minako turned back around, remembering what Rei had said.

"Keep your guard up," she had said. "There's something strange afoot. Watch out for this one."

"Good morning, Minako!" Minako smiled and looked up as the girl walked by.

"Good morning, Hotah," she replied. "Okay, so about tonight-"

"Oh, I can't wait! It sounds like such fun. You know, I am so glad that you girls still maintain a normal life despite your obligations as senshi."

"Believe me, it isn't easy," Minako said. "But it is totally worth it! You'll see why tonight, since you've so enthusiastically agreed to go!" The two girls grinned and began jabbering about clothes and make-up, but most importantly hair.

--

"Really, you should come with us," Makoto insisted as she carefully carried a tray of tea to her two guests. Tucana and Nebula looked at each other and shook their heads again.

"Like we've been saying, the answer is no," Nebula said. "We have to find Geb and the Collector, and besides Anog Ite would be most upset if we engaged in something like that." She took her cup and glanced at Tucana, who had been struggling with saying no. Nebula knew Tucana well. This dance sounded just like something she would want to go to, so Nebula had to do all the talking for once.

"Well, suit yourselves," Makoto said, seeming to finally give up. She set the tray on the coffee table and disappeared into her room. No more than two seconds later, her head popped back out. "So, have you changed your minds yet?"

--

"Oh no no, Rei, this is the color for Ami!" Usagi held up a compact she had brought. Rei shook her head.

"No no, Ami should use these, they suit her much better," Rei said. "Those would be better for Daichi or Zhuancha." Rei then looked over to her silent guests. "Are you two sure you won't be coming with us? It couldn't hurt." The two looked at each other, and then back at the others.

"What I fail to understand," Daichi said, "Is why you are attending a function at a school that is not your own."

"This is meant to allow prospective students to look learn more about the school and enrollment," Ami explained as she poked at the monster bottle of hairspray that Usagi had brought. "While anyone may go, it is meant for prospective students like myself."

"Ami!" Usagi cried. "You, go there? What about us?"

"But our real purpose," Rei said, cutting in, "Is to investigate Sailor New V and her connection to both the school and the enemy."

"This Sailor New V, she has a weapon, right?" Zhuancha asked. The others nodded.

Daichi nodded. "In that case, we will go," she said. "We must. She's as much a target as the rest of the senshi."

--

Unfamiliar music filled the recreation hall as Tale stood along the edge of the dance area with Karen and her best friend, Tenka. They'd only arrived a short while before, but now Karen was already being asked to the dance floor by one of the male students for a slower song. Tenka quietly excused herself to do something she was assigned to during the event, leaving Tale alone. A few moments later, however, a man with blue eyes and mint-green hair approached her. At first, she thought he was coming for someone behind her. She looked behind her as she stepped to the side, but she discovered there was no one around her. She looked back to him as he spoke.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, holding out his hand. Tale blushed and shook her head. "Please, may I?" She then gasped softly and slowly lifted her head to look at him. She stared right into his blue eyes, and almost instantly recognized the pleading look in them. Without taking her eyes away, she rested her hand in his and was lead to the dance floor. As they began dancing, he leaned his head closer to her. She resisted the urge to back off as he spoke. "I was worried, did you get my message?" he asked. She pulled her head back and looked at him with confusion. "My message, to meet me at the temple."

"I got a message, yes," she said quietly. "But, it was to meet you at a bridge called the Rainbow Bridge, and instead of you I met Sailor Aether."

"Komoka," he said through gritted teeth. He sighed to calm himself, and looked back at her. "I... I am sorry," he said. "I had hoped I'd gotten my message out without her finding out. It seems I was wrong." He closed his eyes. "Tale, she will replace me soon. I've displease our, no, her master too much."

"Replaced-"

"Please, let me finish," he interrupted quietly. "I'm sure to be replaced, but before that happens, I can return some of the items that have been stolen."

"You have me interested," Tale said, "But what about you? What will happen?"

"I... don't know," he admitted. "But, I don't care, so long as I can make up for some of the things I have done." His eyes lined up with hers. "So long as I can help you..." He didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. Geb closed her eyes and moved a little closer, resting her head on his shoulder. Somehow, it felt right.

--

On the opposite side of the room, Tucana was being held by her wrist by Nebula. There was so great an urge to get out and have a party that Tucana had to be kept leashed. Kimi had suggested using her noose, but they figured it would look too strange and attract unwanted attention.

Standing next to them was Zhuancha and Daichi. They had been silent until Zhuancha decided to start complaining about wearing the dress. Tucana looked like she was about to argue with her, but she was cut off by Daichi, who agreed that the dress was horrible, just as much as her own.

"I'm afraid we weren't exactly prepared for this," Rei said suddenly as she and the others joined them. The only absent ones were Ami, Minako, and Anog Ite.

"Where's the others?" Nebula asked.

"Ami is talking with a representative of the school," Rei said, much to Usagi's dismay. "Minako and your friend, well, they are just late."

"Fashionably late!" Minako said as she grabbed Rei's shoulders. "We're late, but we're fashionable." She straightened as she pulled Anog Ite forward. "Hotah and I couldn't decide what to wear." Everyone blinked, and then looked at each other.

"Uh, who is Hotah?" Kimi asked, scratching her blond head. Anog Ite laughed.

"Oh, they have such senses of humor, don't they?" she said. Nebula's eyes widened.

"Wait, you're talking about Anog Ite?" she said. "You're mistaken. Her name is Enapay, not Hotah."

"No, Nebula, that's wrong," Anog Ite insisted. "My name is Hotah, silly."

"Anog Ite, stop lying right now," Kimi said coarsely. "Stop with these silly stories and start acting like yourself!" There was silence among them, then Kimi could hear a sniffle, and a choked cry, that surprised everyone.

"Kimi, you have been nothing but mean to me since we got here!" Anog Ite sobbed.

"It would seem," Rei said to Minako, "That my caution was warranted, but I cautioned the wrong person."

"Caution?" Anog Ite cried. "What caution?" Rei couldn't reply when there was suddenly screams coming from the opposite side of the room and everyone began to leave. The girls pushed there way against the grain. Then they got to an opening, they were surprised to see Tale, holding hands with the Collector and both running toward the screams. What they found was a shock to them all.

"It's your enemy!" Nebula said, more for Kimi than herself. "They've got Ami and another girl!" Ami was in the grasps of Sailor Mirandas while Karen's friend Tenka was trapped by the attack of Sailor Tritonus.

"Geb Pantheon Power!" Tale shouted, transforming and jumping right into action. "Earthly Strike!" She spun once and stabbed the ground with the blade on her staff. A great shock wave emanated from it. Directed at the two evil senshi, it shook them off of their feet with a great force, freeing Ami and Tenka to crawl away. The others transformed and took stances as Mirandas got to her feet. She threw her hands forward.

"Wind Disruption!" Mirandas shouted. The whirling tornado zoomed at Geb, but was stopped prematurely by Sebastian, who had stepped in front and took the brunt of the attack. It beat on him before it was suddenly blasted away by a dark beam of energy coming from a silver staff, Mei's Staff of Silver Night. The new attack blasted into Mirandas, throwing her into the wall. As Sebastian collapsed into Geb's arms, Tritonus vanished, followed by Mirandas' limp form.

The senshi approached Geb, who had lowered to the ground under Sebastian's weight. "Just what is going on here?" Makoto asked. Geb could only smile.

"We have an ally," she said. The others looked at her, and then at Sebastian in disbelief. There was silence, and then it was broken by such a sour voice that everyone jumped.

"And it seems I have a traitor!" Everyone turned to the source of the voice to find an odd-looking child staring at them. "Now it is time to introduce myself to you all!" she declared. "I am the NEW Collector: Collector Komoka!" She then posed, pointing a finger at the group. "But you meddling senshi can call me Sailor Aether! I'll deal with all of you... After I deal with our traitor." Her finger lowered to point directly at Sebastian. He had he neck craned to look at the child-like senshi. "But before that, you'll give me that staff: Now!" Sebastian's face grew stern and he shook his head slowly.

"No." He looked at Geb and forced the staff into her hand. Aether growled and pointed a white wand at the group. At the end toward them was a white sphere. Upon it was the same red-and-salmon-colored symbol that was on Aether's forehead.

"Shrinking Negation!" A wave of energy, or maybe sound, left the wand and flew past the group. They suddenly felt like they were suffocating. It was a familiar feeling for the Geb and Kimi, as well as Daichi, Nebula, and Zhuancha. It was just like what had happened on Tae. They felt like they were being suffocated from the inside out. Familiar or not, though, they fared just like everyone else: panicked, in pain, losing consciousness. Sailor Aether was enjoying this, especially now that she could see Sebastian's pained face as he hung from Geb's limp arm. Then, she gasped. She gripped. There was nothing but air. Everyone gasped at the suddenly ability to breath while Aether turned to follow her wand's flight as it followed a familiar brown line. The path ended in the hands of none other than Sailor New V, who now held Aether's wand in one hand and Sailor Daichi's Ibarakei in her other.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-Up!" Mars and Jupiter moved side-by-side ahead of the group as New V joined the senshi.

"Flame Sniper!"

"Oak Revolution!"

Sailor Jupiter's attack wrapped around Mars' arrow, creating a spiraling current of leaves around it. The leaves caught fire and the whole spiral turned to flame. The attack was aimed straight at Sailor Aether, but she threw out her hand.

"Shrinking Negation!" An area in front of her seemed to warp, and the fire was sucked into the warped space before it unwarped. She threw her other hand forward. "Shrinking Negation!" she called again. This time, space was warped in between Mars and Jupiter. They were suddenly pulled together, hitting each other with a great force before dropping.

"Anog Ite Pantheon Power!" Anog Ite stepped up in front of Mars and Jupiter, quills nestled in between each finger of one hand while the other hand held the Ibarakei. "All right, it's time for an ass-kicking!" she shouted in a gruff voice. She took an offensive stance. "I wasn't named Enapay for nothing!"

"Enapay?" Minako asked questioningly. "I thought your name was 'Hotah.'" Anog Ite looked over her shoulder at Minako with a confused face.

"Um, no?" she said. "That's a south-hemisphere name. I was born in the north." She looked back at Aether and changed at her. She pulled the hand with the quills over its opposite shoulder and then flung it at Aether. The quills flew hard and fast, but Aether was quicker. She dodged and avoided them as she ran. She couldn't get too far too quickly when the Ibarakei was suddenly wrapped around her ankle. She gave a screech as the thorns dug into her skin. She held her hand over the vine as Anog Ite advanced. Space warped around the vine, releasing Aether's ankle so she could charge away. With a swiftness the others couldn't have guessed, Aether ran around the group and slid into New V, knocking her into Geb and Sebastian. Aether joined the pile as she slid to a stop next to Sebastian. She produced the jeweled bottle Sebastian had once used and in the bright light they had seen before, Geb and Sebastian disappeared.

Everyone was stunned. They were quiet, then New V stood up. Her mask was gone, lost during the pile-up. "What just happened?" she asked. She looked over as Tenka cautiously joined the group.

"She got away," Daichi said, quickly pulling herself up while keeping her dress down. Anog Ite stepped up next to her and handed her the Ibarakei.

"And hey, we have Mei's staff!" Tucana said excitedly.

"But..." Everyone looked at Geb, who was still sitting on the floor. "They have Sebastian..."

--

"We didn't see ANYTHING of them..." Zhuancha grumbled. She sat in the corner, her arms and chin on her bent knees. "Nothing! We didn't see the Eiso beads at all!"

"Oh for the love of all that is decent, shut up!" Tucana shouted.

"Well-"

"Shut up," Ixtab and Geb said grumpily. Like everyone else, they were losing patience for Zhuancha's complaining. Zhuancha frowned and didn't continue. Then as Seresha came into the room, she had a thought.

"Say, what is up with Anog Ite?" Zhuancha asked. "You know, the Enapay-Hotah business. She's suddenly really unstable."

"Empese," Seresha said as she bent down to pick up one of Hikari's discarded pillows. The recovering senshi looked up at Seresha with surprise, but couldn't yet speak because of her injuries. She looked at Mei.

'How do you know that?' Mei asked.

"I've seen it in previous senshi," Seresha said simply. She turned and left the room. Everyone went quiet, and then they all glanced at Geb, who had her head hung and her arms crossed. Finally after several moments, Tucana broke the silence.

"Where are Daichi and Nebula?"

--

The duo was quietly padding down the steps to the hall of paintings. Each carried a torch they had borrowed from upstairs hall. "Why are we here again?" Daichi asked curiously.

"Well, when you were ill," Nebula explained, lifting her light to look at the paintings, "You came here because everything felt familiar. Lately, I've been feeling the same."

"Well, you were an IPI, too," Daichi said matter-of-factly, looking up at a painting.

"I know, I know," Nebula said as she continued. "But, I want to see our painting for myself. Here!" She lifted her torch as Daichi joined her. She lifted her torch as well so they could get a good look. In the painting was Sailor Tucana in a uniform of the same design as Anog Ite and Nebula in Ixtab's place. In the middle was a man in a fuku of similar design to Geb's, but his nicely-sculpted chest was bare. The symbol of Dohisei was attached to his collar much like Geb's symbol was on hers. What was most interesting about him, however, was the sharp, short, silver hair that was spiked atop his tanned skin and the brilliant bi-colored eyes, one green and the other brown.

"Well?" Daichi asked, looking at Nebula.

"It's all more believable now," she replied. Daichi nodded and glanced around to the other numerous paintings. Then something caught her eye and she wandered off.

"Nebula, over here!" she called. Nebula followed.

"What is it?" she asked. Daichi pointed silently to the painting above them. Nebula looked, and then gasped.

"You see what I see, don't you?" Daichi asked. "That 'movement' IPI..."

"...The Collector!"


	10. Chapter 9: Cold Moons and Dark Figures

A cloud of debris orbited a dying star. It was the remnants of a now dead planet, like all the others in the system. Like the others it had moons, now the orphaned, skeletal survivors pf ancient wars and aged scars. The moons and its scarce inhabitants, despite the distance, were kept close-knit by the hodge-podge team of senshi that kept what order they could in their dying system. Against all odds, the citizens had survived. However, that survival was being threatened by the most unlikeliest of individuals...

"Tum, tum, tum-tum..." Chilled by the lack of warmth from the sun and the moon's core, a small child shivered, her bare knees pulled up to the thin white apron that was tied over a blue dress. She pulled the apron over her knees and buries her face into them. The was thin, with not much to keep her warm as it was. Added to the fact that she was dreadfully alone and being hunter, she was a miserable mess.

"Shh, quiet... She's here..." Now, the child was about to run again. She lifted her head as the opening of the nook she hid in was slightly darkened as legs interrupted the light of the vendor's lamp. She recognized the boots, by size and color, as belonging to the three senshi of time who almost always headed the chase for the child.

"Tum..." she groaned sadly. She straightened her legs and then did the best she could to get ready to spring out of her spot. She watched the legs, waiting for her chance. The legs continued to move, and then they were gone. The child took this moment to shoot out of the nook, her orange head being no more than a blur to the three surprised senshi. They were stunned, as always, before turning and charging after her. Then, as always, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. The vendor's lamp swung before its hanging arm broke from the wooden pillar and it crashed to the ground.

"She's at it again!" the blond-haired Sailor Rosetta shouted.

"Hurry, we've got to catch her!" black-haired Sailor Maplus said. "After her!" Maplus skipped a step to try and gain some ground, but her foot landed wrong and she tripped. Rosetta was first to fall onto her, followed by the ever-silent Sailor Violetta. The three were a tangled mess by the time their leader arrived.

"Got away again?" she asked, her voice thick from her auditory handicap. She sighed and tapped the crystal in her ear. It was connected to a smaller crystal on the end of a curved piece of metal that ended just to the side of her mouth. "She got away, gather by the Lamp Vendor." Within moments, the shaking stopped, and moments later the rest of their comrades had joined them. They didn't get to see the three time senshi in a heap. Rather, they were cleaning up the mess of the broken vendor's lamp.

Sailor Seraphim and her pint-sized partner, Celestia, arrived first. The senshi of death and life were then joined by the two senshi of fate, Sailor Charel and Chaprina. The twin child senshi, Seoul and Sari, arrived last. "Aw, the pretty lamp broke," Seoul lamented.

"I'm sure he'll make another, Sari comforted in her usual role as the older sister.

"This chase is pointless," Charel said. The other senshi sighed. Here they went again.

"You will never catch her," Charpina added, tossing her long braid over her shoulder.

"Well, we might," Rosetta said, "If you would actually help!"

"She would not be caught, with or without our help," Charel said. "The child would still run free."

"It is not her fate to be held by our authority," Charpina finished.

"Yeah, yeah," Seraphim growled. "'Her fate lies elsewhere,' that's what you always say. 'She's leave soon!' Well, that won't do us any good if she tears our moons apart first!"

"We don't know even if she is causing the surface tensions," Marina gently reminded them. "We just need to catch her to determine the facts."

"We will not catch her," Charel repeated. She looked at Charpina, who nodded and looked to the sky knowingly. The others looked as well, as though expecting to see something.

"The child's time is upon us."

--------------------------------------------

The child ran quickly. Even though the quakes had stopped and the senshi had undoubtedly stopped chasing, she still ran to get away. She looked over her shoulder, and seeing nothing let herself smile. However, she couldn't see someone in front of her. She ran smack into someone's midsection, falling onto them as they fell to the ground. That someone wrapped a pair of warm, fuzzy arms around her, giving the child her first sense of safety since arriving on the moon. She looked up and found a beautiful pair of gold eyes staring back at her.

"Oh, hello there," the young woman said, leaning forward to get the child off of her very sore abdomen. "What is your name?"

"Tum-tum?" the child said in question. She settled on her knees.

"Tum-Tum? That's cute," she said. "I'm Hikari."

"Tum, tum! Tum, tum, tum-tum!" the child repeated hysterically, over and over. She was waving her arms in a panic.

"Oh, oh! Calm down!" Hikari said quickly. She took the child's arms and gently pulled them down. She looked up at the dark-haired young woman standing over her. "Mei, can you tell what's wrong?" The child looked up at Mei, brushing her messy orange hair from her face with the palm of her hands. She stared in amazement as the brilliant silver eyes that looked back at her.

'I cannot see, her mind is greatly shielded,' Mei said. The child looked around for the one who had spoken before slowly looking back up at Mei. Realization crossed her mind as her eyes grew. She suddenly threw herself at Hikari's chest, burying her face in the warm, thick layers of her coat.

"Ow!" Hikari exclaimed, the child pressing on several of the many injuries left over from her encounter with Sailor Magellanus. "I think you scared her, Mei."

'Dear child, I am telepathic,' Mei tried to explain. 'I speak through the mind.' The child slowly pulled her head back until she could just barely see Mei. She then glanced up at Hikari.

"It's okay, honest," Hikari said. "She's my friend, like my best friend, or my sister." The child smiled. "So... Your name is 'Tum-Tum,' or did I misunderstand?" The girl stood and pointed at herself.

"Tum-Tum," she said. "Tum-Tum."

'Odd,' Mei said, tilting her head in observation. 'It would seem to be her name, but she seems incapable to say anything but that and yet, she seems to be able to understand us perfectly.' At that, Tum-Tum nodded, acknowledging that she understood them.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Hikari said with a grunt as Mei helped her up. She smiled at Tum-Tum and reached to her. She ruffled the girl's orange hair, and what happened next made both young women jump.

Hikari had no sooner begun ruffling the child's hair when a pair of long white ears suddenly popped out of the mess. Noticing their surprise, Tum-Tum grabbed her ears and pulled them down as she turned completely away. It was then that they realized that she had a puffy white tail on her tail bone.

"Aw, she's so adorable!" Hikari pulled the child backward into her arms. This surprised her, causing her to let go of her ears and for them to pop back up. "Aw..." she cooed. She looked over at Mei. "Can I keep her?"

--------------------------------------------

On an entirely separate moon, Geb stood still and proud with her index and middle fingers pressed to her temples. Like Ixtab, she had found a way to finally focus her power of sight. "They are all equally sparse," she told Daichi as she examined the moons. "I'm not seeing Sailor Aether or Sebastian, but something similar to them was definitely here."

"What about our people?" Daichi asked, taking her eyes off of the nearby village to look at Geb. "How is Seresha doing?"

"Well, Tucana and Nebula seem to be popular," Geb said, clearly amused. "It would seem the clothing Seresha gave us doesn't quite fit in." She paused. "Seresha and Anog Ite have nothing of interest happening." She paused again. "What's this?"

"What?" Daichi asked, now tensed. Geb smiled.

"Hikari and Mei seem to have made a friend," she said. "A child, but a very strange one. She is nothing like the inhabitants of these moons."

"Could she be a threat?" Daichi asked. "Hikari is still healing and-"

"I know you know your team better than I," Geb said, "But this child and Hikari seem to be very... close." She frowned. "However, a child can be just as dangerous as an adult. Aether has proven that..."

"Well..." Daichi loosened up, shaking down her arms. "Even though Hikari isn't a hundred percent, Mei certainly is, and she has the added power of her staff back into play." Daichi's uniform faded out and was replaced by a bulky outfit comprised of pants and a long coat. Geb lowered her hands and looked at Daichi. She nodded and her uniform disappeared as well. It was replaced by a long bulky dress of similar fashion.

"Hey, are you two ready?" Tale and Daichi looked down to the base of the little hill. At the bottom were Zhuancha and Kimi. "Well, are you?" Zhuancha asked.

"Yes, we're coming," Tale said, beginning the descent.

"You two were quick," Daichi said matter-of-factly. "You landed in a small village, too?" Kimi and Zhuancha nodded.

"They are all small," Tale said. "The only exception is the one Mei and Hikari are in. It seems to be the main concentration. We'll go to the next moons and leave them there, and then we'll all gather there later." The others nodded. Kimi pressed her palms together and they were gone.

--------------------------------------------

Space was bent. Time was still. Objects of comfort and entertainment floated in a non-existent orbit, mingling with objects of power once held by sailor senshi. Among the objects floated Sebastian, his coat moving in a mysterious breeze that exposed his impossibly-bent body, shaking as he swallowed his cried of anguish. It felt as though this punishment had been going on forever. Floating nearby, upside down in relation to Sebastian, was Komoka. Her senshi uniform was gone, replaced by a long white coat with red swirls all over it. Her child-like face was distorted by a smug expression of enjoyment at Sebastian's expense.

"Cease," said suddenly a hard, feminine voice. Aether's face scrunched with dissatisfaction and Sebastian's voice gave out as his body snapped back to a mostly-normal shape. He didn't move, save for a shudder and soft breathes he hardly dared to take. His thoughts were focused on Tale as he tried to forget the pain. "Tell me, Sebastian," the voice asked. "Why did you join, only to betray me?" Sebastian didn't respond. "Komoka." The distorted, smug expression of satisfaction returned as, without command, Komoka warped space around Sebastian's left arm so quickly it caught him off-guard, bending his arm in such a painful and normally-impossible position that he cried out with a shriek of pain.

"You will answer our lady!" Komoka shouted.

"She- is not-" Sebastian gasped, his denial barely audible through his gritted teeth.

"Cease," the voice spoke again. This time, Komoka let Sebastian's arm snap back so fiercely that the sound made it obvious it was now broken. Sebastian swallowed his yelp as a chair appeared floating next to Komoka. Sebastian's blurred eyes barely registered the familiar figure. "My question, Sebastian."

Sebastian gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes, his line of sight no better than it had been. "You- offered me power," he said forcibly. "I wanted- that power- to forget."

"To forget your pitiful previous life?" the lady asked. "Yes, yes... what changed?" Sebastian averted his eyes to gaze upon the floating treasures, many of which he had stolen himself. There was the sword of Sailor Libra, the scythe of Sailor Osiris, and the flute of Sailor Draco. Then, the staff of Cosmic moon from Naernoterr came into sight. It's curved, silver, half-moon black reminded Sebastian of Sailor Geb's Staff. He closed his eyes.

"I was- reminded," he said. "Reminded... of the good..." His consciousness slipped as he floated away.

"Remembering is dangerous," the lady said. She looked at Aether. "You are the perfect servant. However, you have failed me already."

"My sincerest apologies," Aether said with a bow. "It shall not happen again."

"Yes, I know," the lady said. "I, however, do not like to take chances." She looked ahead through the orbiting weapons as a darkened figure began to appear in the space. "You'll go out again, but this time, you'll go together."

"I shall continue my successes in PalminaNoTenka," the woman said. She reached out with her white-gloved hand and grasped the Deep Space Sword. "I shall not fail."

--------------------------------------------

"I don't understand Mei, shouldn't they be back by now to get us?" Hikari asked. The little orange head sticking out from her coat looked up in confusion.

"Tum?" she asked.

'Our companions, little one,' Mei said. She stepped away from the cold wall and looked down either way of the street with a sigh. 'They may not come for us if they felt we were in an important area.'

"In that case, we should keep looking!" Hikari dramatically lifted her fist into the air. Tum Tum hopped up from her sitting spot between Hikari's legs and offered her hand. Hikari gladly took it and started to get up. Her face scrunched with discomfort the whole way.

'Hikari?'

"I'm fine," Hikari groaned. "Honest."

'You cannot lie,' Mei said. 'You mind is not so well trained yet.' Hikari stuck her tongue out at Mei and then noticed Tum Tum's confused expression.

"Tum?" she asked, lifting her fist as Hikari had done. Then she mirrored Hikari's scrunched face quite comically, to which Hikari laughed.

"Of course!" she said. "We never told you who we are or what we're doing!"

'There's no reason to tell her,' Mei said. She then felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down and found the child looking back up at her.

"Tum-tum?" she said in a whining, maybe even pleading voice. Mei sighed, closing her eyes.

'Very well,' she said. 'However, if you shall so allow, I shall show you rather than tell.' Tum Tum poked her head and nodded with understanding. Mei cupped the girl's forehead and the back of her head, turning her just slightly. There was a moment of nothing, and then the girl's hair was ruffled as Mei poured her focus in, trying to not only show the girl their story, but also to get past the shield around her mind.

Hikari watched with awe as a silver glow began to lift slowly away from Mei, moving just as slowly to Tum Tum. It began to surround her, but with a sudden, inaudible snap the glow moved back at Mei, throwing her backward and tossing the child to her knees. "Mei!" Hikari moved to Mei as she sat up, panting forcefully. "Mei, what happened?" she asked. Mei looked up at her, and then at Tum Tum.

'I was successful,' she said in between breaths, 'In showing her who we are and where we are from.'

"Tum tum, tum, tum-tum tum!" the girl exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She looked at the older girls with a wide, toothy smile.

'I learned something important of our small friend as well,' Mei said as she pushed herself. She looked at Hikari. 'Wherever she is from, she is an operative similar to Geb, Ixtab, and Anog Ite, a defender and traveler.'

"What, an IPI?" Hikari asked.

'Similar,' Mei said. 'I suspect that is why she is here.' She looked at Tum Tum. 'Correct?'

Tum Tum nodded and lifted her pendant. She tapped the red gem before reaching into her apron pocket. From it she pulled a gold pocket watch attached to a gold chain. She popped it open, revealing a clock face with nine different-colored, different-shaped hands. It didn't seem to work, as nothing was moving. She tapped the face of the clock sadly before closing it and putting it back into her pocket.

'You're method of moving?' Mei asked. Tum Tum nodded.

"So, why is she here?" Hikari asked. Mei shrugged and turned, heading down the street. Hikari took Tum Tum's hand and pulled her along. "You really are something special, aren't you?" Tum Tum shyly blushed and smiled.

--------------------------------------------

Daichi stood defensively in front of the fallen Tale, starring down the offending senshi in brown and black. Daichi had already incapacitated her companions, Rosetta and Violetta, who now sat painfully behind Maplus. "I won't say this but once more, identify yourselves!" the one named Maplus shouted.

"We are no threat!" Daichi shouted back. "Stand down!"

"You are on our moon!" Maplus called. "Stand down!"

"No Maplus, you stand down," suddenly commanded a slurred, thick voice. Maplus tensed, and then dropped her arms. Daichi followed more slowly as Tale looked around for the voice. To their left approached a blue-haired senshi flanked by two small, twin senshi. Daichi then noticed a pair of tall senshi approaching from the right. Sensing more, she turned completely around and found a woman and child senshi behind them.

"Surrounded," Daichi muttered. She offered her black-gloved hand to Tale, who took it and stood.

"I am Sailor Marina," the blue-haired senshi said, drawing their attention. "I am the leader of the Palmina Moon Senshi." She motioned to the surrounding senshi. "Maplus, Rosetta, and Violetta you have met. Then Charel and Charpina..." She motioned to the tall ones. "...Seraphim and Celestia..." She made a motion to the woman and child. "...Seoul and Sari." The twin girls nodded. Tale respectfully nodded in acknowledgment to each.

"I am Sailor Geb," Tale said, introducing herself, "Formerly of the Pantheon System, now of the IPI senshi."

"Pantheon? That's impossible," Seraphim said. "Pantheon's nebula was obliterated ages ago. The chances of a survivor is beyond remote."

"There are three of us of Pantheon," Tale said. "However, we are of the Pantheon of another dimension, an alternate timeline. We three are Interdimensional Police Investigators."

"If there are three, where is the third?" Sailor Sari asked.

"Actually, I'm just along for the ride," Daichi said.

"My companions and our guests are searching the other moons," Tale explained. Before some of the other senshi could become angry, Sailor Charel spoje.

"Not anymore," she said knowingly. She and Charpina stepped aside, revealing the newly-arrived senshi.

"Um, what's going on?" Tucana asked.

--------------------------------------------

'Moonray!' The silver beam of Mei's attack cut through the stirred-up dust and struck the roof edge where Sailor Aether had just been standing. She was midway to the ground now. 'Moonray!' Mei sent another beam at the approximate spot where Aether would land. It caused an explosion that Aether contained in a space bubble. She landed next to it and ran before it exploded with an amplified force. 'Nankan!' Its containment had amplified it so much that even Mei's black dome was helpless against it and she was thrown back.

Nearby, Hikari hid in an alley with Tum Tum, under orders from Mei to not join the battle because of her frail condition. She kept Tum Tum close as she listened to the ensuing battle. "Oh Mei," she whispered with fright. "Please take care."

"You should worry about yourself instead," suddenly said a harsh voice. Hikari gasped and turned to look, but saw nothing but white pain and orange hair as she flew into the street. Tum Tum held onto Hikari's coat until they hit the ground. The impact loosened Tum Tum's grip, tossing her to the side. The jostled little girl looked up as their attacker, a blond-haired senshi of monstrous proportions, advanced on Hikari.

"Tum-tum!" the child cried. The tall senshi kicked Hikari straight up into the air, where she grabbed the collar of Hikari's shirt.

"You still have that dagger," the woman said. "I want it."

"N-Never," Hikari shuddered, in too much pain to open her eyes. Her defiance earned her a toss at Tum Tum. Hikari bowled into her roughly. As Tum Tum sat back up on her knees, holding Hikari, she saw Mei soar into a wall. She fell, landing on her hands and knees.

"And now, the final act!" Aether shouted. Mei lifted her head and her eyes widened. Hanging from Aether's hand were all eight Eiso beads, still on their strings.

"Komoka, you idiot, put those away!" Mei looked to the new voice and gasped.

'Sailor Uranus!' The tall, titan of a senshi, in a uniform unfamiliar to Mei, looked at the downed senshi with a smirk. It disappeared quickly, however, as she looked back to Aether.

"Those things are dangerous," Uranus said, advancing on the child-sized woman. "Send them back to our mistress!"

"We are allowed to use any weapon we have stolen!" Aether shouted with a screech. "I choose this one!"

"You can't control it, none but the senshi you stole it from can," Uranus argued, advancing more quickly. With attention off of herself, Mei stood with her staff gripped tightly with both hands. "Send them back, now!"

"No!" Aether screamed, thrusting her arm forward. What happened next occurred so quickly, Tum Tum almost missed it.

Uranus grabbed Aether's arm, throwing it up as she used her other fist to punch her gut. In shock, Aether released the Eiso beads, which were propelled forward by the force. As they flew, Mei charged ahead, her empty hand reaching out for the beads. In those moments, the rest of the senshi, IPI and Palmina alike, came running out of a nearby alley. Sebastian tumbled onto the ground out of thin air. Uranus had Aether in a headlock. All watched with stilled breath as the beads nestled into her hand.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and then it shattered in a chorus of screeches as light snapped around the beads in Mei's hand, propelling her backward with such a force that the wall she hit broke apart, falling with and all over her. There were a few more moments of stilled silence before the world seemed to turn again. "Mei!" Zhuancha cried first, charging at the rocky pile. Daichi and Anog Ite charged after her as Marina and her senshi took defensive stances, separating the senshi from Aether and Uranus. Tucana and Nebula to hang back with Ixtab as Seresha ran to Hikari and the child and Geb bolted to Sebastian's side. His arm hung limp at his side while the other gripped Hikari's staff. Before acknowledging Geb, he skidded it across the ground to where Hikari was regaining consciousness. Geb wrapped her arms around him.

"Sebastian," she whispered. "You're alive."

"That... What was that?" he asked, his good arm wrapped around Geb as he stared at the broken pile.

"What power!" Aether exclaimed. "I want it!"

"You are insane," Uranus said, tightening the headlock. "That could have been you, psycho."

A short distance away, Seresha gently shook Hikari's shoulder. "Hikari, are you all right?" she asked. The blond looked wearily at her.

"M-Mei..." she whispered. "She's fighting..."

"Mei! Mei!" Hikari's eyes widened at the panicked sound of Daichi's voice. She turned her head toward Tum Tum to see what was happening. She watched as Anog Ite, Daichi, and Zhuancha tossed aside chunks of the broken wall. Daichi then ducked down and pulled something up. Anog Ite reached in and helped as Zhuancha continued. Hikari's mind spun at the sight of Mei's limp body being pulled up into Daichi's arms.

Anog Ite stepped back as Daichi lowered, Zhuancha kneeling beside her. "Mei?" Daichi whispered. She gently shook her, but no breath stirred. She crossed her arms across Mei and closed her eyes. "Healing Aroma!" A soft green glow grew from Daichi. It was steady and remained so as it migrated to Mei, covering her briefly before it abruptly fizzled away. Zhuancha looked at Daichi, whose eyes never opened as her face began to distort in rage. She pulled Mei closer as the rage turned into tears.

"Oh no," Maplus whispered. Her stance, like the others, had slowly fallen. They were all stunned as none, save for Marina, Seraphim, Charel, and Charpina, had ever seen death until now. Zhuancha lifted Mei's hand. The staff was gone, but the beads remained, burned through her glove and into her hand.

"Wrath," she muttered, recognizing the burn of the demon. Grimacing, she took hold of the four strings and gently pulled the beads away. She rested the hand, palm down, on Mei's leg before jumping to her feet in resolute rage. "You make a huge mistake taking the Eiso beads!" she shouted.

"No, you made the mistake of getting in the way!" Aether shouted. Ripples of warped space moved from her, lifting Uranus up and away and pushing everyone else to the ground.

"Flaming Fury!" Zhuancha shouted. Hands of fire stretched from her being, cutting through the rippled with ease. Aether panicked and jumped away. The hands vanished without causing any damage. Aether landed next to Uranus and looked at Tum Tum and Hikari.

"Let's complete the pair!" she shouted maniacally. She sent ripples of warped space at them with a brisk speed. However, Seresha jumped in front of them, throwing her hands out to either side.

"Corvina Litalia!" A booming, pulsing light left Seresha and somehow collided with the warped space.

"Tum tum-tum!" the child shouted, her knowing eyes watching the collision. The other senshi shouted as the ground shook more violently, many of them calling for Seresha to stop. However, their shouts went unheard as the collision waves swallowed all sound. Then, the waves swallowed Ixtab, Tucana, and Nebula. Anog Ite, Daichi, Zhuancha, and Mei were the next to disappear, followed by Geb and Sebastian before Uranus wrapped her long arm around Aether's middle. They then vanished as well, leaving Seresha to fall at the sudden loss of resistance. The light vanished and she was left to pant breathlessly. The Palmina senshi pulled themselves up, with little Celestia breaking the silence.

"Where everyone go?"

--------------------------------------------

It felt like it should hurt, but for the moment the throbbing in her head was just throbbing.

"Ixtab, Nebula, are you two all right?" Ixtab heard Tucana ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nebula said with a slight groan.

"I'm fine," Ixtab repeated, pushing herself up. She felt the two senshi take her arms and help her to her feet. "What happened?" she asked. Unseen to her, Tucana and Nebula simply shook their heads. Then, she felt their hands tense. "What is it?" she asked The two didn't respond as their surprised gazes met the surprised gaze of a woman with pale red eyes and extremely long blue-white hair.

"I don't think we're on Palmina anymore."

--------------------------------------------

"Tale, wake up," Sebastian said gently as he nudged Sailor Geb. Her eyes fluttered open as he sighed with relief. "How do you feel?" he asked. Geb looked around at the darkened, unknown location before sitting up.

"Lost," she replied. She looked at him. "It's just you and me; whichever Earth we're on, the others aren't here."

"What do you mean, 'whichever Earth?'" asked a voice. The darkness was abruptly broken by sudden light which made Sebastian and Geb flinch. They could see they were in a bedroom. They looked over their shoulders to find a teen girl with wavy black hair standing behind them, framed by a doorway with her hand on what Geb knew to be a light switch. "There's only one Earth."

--------------------------------------------

"My name is 'Hotah,' don't make me repeat myself again," Sailor Anog Ite said as irritably as she smoothed Mei's long hair.

"Fine, whatever," Zhuancha said, quickly losing patience. "Let's just figure out where we are, all right?"

"But we can't very well do that with Mei in this state or without the others," Anog Ite said. She looked upon the fallen senshi's peaceful face, barely noticing the cuts little with small rocks. She then looked up at Daichi, whose head hung with no indication that she was even with them anymore.

"We'll find other senshi," Zhuancha said, also looking at Daichi. "I'm sure we'll find help somewhere."

"You need help?" The sudden voice of a child startled the senshi. Anog Ite and Zhuancha looked to see a small child with white and blue hair. Next to her was a young woman with tanned skin and white hair. "Is your friend hurt? Should we get a doctor?" The child looked at Mei with curiously. She then noticed Daichi, who had lifted her head and was now looking at the child with red eyes.

"No doctor can fix this," she said, each word piercing the air.


End file.
